22 injured in Macedonia ethnic clashes March 3, 2013 - 19:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - At least 22 people, including 13 police officers, have been injured in protests in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, police have said, according to Belfast Telegraph. The protests, which erupted on Friday, March 1 evening and continued overnight, were started by ethnic Macedonians angry at the appointment of a new defense minister - an ethnic Albanian and former rebel commander in the 2001 conflict which pitted Macedonian's two main ethnic groups against one another. Ethnic Albanians have now staged a counter-protest in the capital. Both protests turned violent, with ethnic Macedonians and Albanians taking turns to scuffle with police but, so far, not with one another. Talat Xhaferi was named defense minister two weeks ago, sparking protests which then escalated. Police said 18 arrests have been made so far, and five of those arrested are minors. Partner news  Top stories Among its provisions are bans on child marriage and the traditional practice of selling and buying women to settle disputes. Jorge Rafael Videla, an austere former army commander, led Argentina during the bloodiest days of its Dirty War dictatorship. According to the United Nations, April was Iraq's bloodiest month for almost five years, with 712 people killed. Reports suggest the rebel fighters may have tried to blow up the walls of the prison, which holds some 4,000 inmates.   Partner news |  Latest news Brad Pitt’s “World War Z” to open Moscow Film Fest  The fest will feature retrospectives of films by Bernardo Bertolucci and Costa Gavras, as well as a program devoted to Dutch cinema.Wrekin Hill picks up John Malkovich’s “Siberian Education” Based on the novel by Nicolai Lilin, the film is set in the ghetto of Soviet Russia and follows 2 boys who are members of a gang of exiled Siberians.EU says concerned over human rights record in Russia The European Union said it would closely watch developments affecting non-governmental organizations in Russia.John Lennon’s guitar auctioned for $408,000 The custom-made instrument, built in 1966 by the VOX company, was bought by an unidentified U.S. buyer in New York. |
