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Macedonia's Second City under Curfew after Two Nights of Violence
Macedonian authorities imposed an overnight curfew Wednesday on Bitola, the country's second-largest city, after two nights of ethnic rioting, according to reports reaching Tirana.
Hundreds of Macedonian Slavs, who make up the majority in the country, attacked shops and restaurants run by ethnic Albanian minorities.
The riots occurred on Monday and Tuesday following the weekend killing by Albanian guerrillas of eight security force members. The two-night of violence left dozens of Albanian properties damaged.
The wave of anti-Albanian violence also spread to Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, on Tuesday. One Albanian customer was killed in a cafe by masked gunmen that night, according to the local police.
A shop was also attacked by a similar group. both the cafe and the shop were run by ethnic Albanians.
In another incident of violence on Tuesday night, The Albanian Embassy in Skopje was fired on but no one was injured, said the police.
After the series of violent incidents, the Macedonian government Wednesday called on the people to remain calm and leave no opportunities for terrorists to take advantage of. Besides Bitola, Tevoto, where the eight Macedonian security officers were killed, also imposed an overnight curfew.
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