SKOPJE — Special police units pulled out of the northern Macedonian town early Monday where 22 people, including eight officers, were killed over the weekend in worst violence in the country since its 2001 inter-ethnic conflict. The violence in Kumanovo, some 40 km north of Skopje, raised concerns about possible ethnic-Albanian unrest in the volatile Balkan region as NATO and the European Union called for a return to calm in Macedonia. The night was peaceful in the town where two-day police operation ended on Sunday, local media reported, adding that dozens of people who had fled from their homes had started to return. The shooting erupted on Saturday at dawn when police moved in on the armed group. Eight officers killed and 37 injured, while 14 bodies were also found at the site, a police spokesman said. “Terrorist planned mass killings in Macedonia” and “Macedonia pushed on the edge” said the front pages of newspapers in the capital Skopje on Monday. The Nova Makedonija daily published photos of the eight killed police officers with their names and years of birth. “Rest in peace” read the caption. — Agencies
