Macedonia police clash with ethnic Albanians

Macedonian police have clashed with ethnic Albanians protesting against a court ruling on a 2012 shooting incident.

Hundreds of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia took to the streets in the capital Skopje on Friday to protest against a court ruling, which sentenced six ethnic Albanian Muslims to life imprisonment for “murdering five Christian fishermen at a lake near Skopje in 2012.”

The men were found to be shot at close range and by more than one gunman.

During the trial that lasted 18 months, prosecutors said the Albanians had intended to destabilize the country. The six, however, have denied the charges, and their lawyers say there was no material evidence against them.

Carrying placards that read “We are not terrorists!” and “We demand justice”, the Albanian protesters tried to march towards the court building but riot police fired water cannons and tear gas to prevent them from the move.

Nearly two dozen people, including policemen, were injured in the clashes. Police also said six people were arrested.

The demonstrators called the convictions politically motivated.

The 2012 shooting incident caused an increase in sectarian animosity between Macedonia’s Christian Orthodox majority and the mostly Muslim ethnic Albanian minority, who make up one quarter of Macedonia’s two million population.