2 Policemen Shot to Death in Macedonia
SKOPJE, Macedonia — Angry Macedonians blocked a highway into this capital Monday to prevent former ethnic Albanian rebel leader Ali Ahmeti from attending a political rally after two Macedonian policemen were gunned down.
The machine-gun attack came three weeks before the nation is to hold elections, the first since the country averted civil war between ethnic Albanian rebels and government forces last year.
Fearing a backlash, European and U.S. envoys urged the government to act with restraint, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization condemned the killings as an attempt to stoke tension. Ahmeti issued a statement saying the political gathering was canceled.
Police said they suspect the drive-by attack in the western town of Gostivar, populated mainly by ethnic Albanians, was ethnically motivated. Ten people were detained.
Leaders of the disbanded rebel army are contenders in the Sept. 15 general election, but diplomats worry that violence by renegades could wreck the peace process.
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