North Macedonia: 47 police officers injured in protests

6/7/2022 19:39

        A protest in the North Macedonian capital over a proposal to break the deadlock in the country's efforts to join the European Union left 47 police officers injured, police said.
        
        The injuries occurred after a group of mostly young people broke off from the main protest, throwing stones, metal bars, eggs and Molotov cocktails at the parliament building in Skopje late Tuesday.
        
        Thousands of people have protested nightly since the weekend over a French proposal for a compromise aimed at lifting objections by neighboring Bulgaria to North Macedonia joining the European Union.
        
        Police said 11 protesters were detained. Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski condemned the attacks on the police, saying violence cannot be justified.
        
        Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski visited the injured police officers in a hospital Wednesday. He said an investigation into the instigators of the violence was underway, and warned they would face the "strictest possible punishments."