Europe

Protesters Overrun Parliament In Macedonia

Nationalist protesters occupied the parliament building before being driven out by police with flash grenades.

Protesters Overrun Parliament In Macedonia
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
SMS

Nationalist protesters stormed the parliament building in Macedonia, sparring with police and lawmakers before being driven out.

Demonstrators broke through a police cordon to enter parliament, occupying the chamber and assaulting legislators before being driven out by police with flash grenades.

The violence came after party leader Zoran Zaev helped elect an ethnic Albanian to the role of Parliament speaker.

The Balkan nation is still simmering with leftover tensions from an attempted Albanian uprising in the 2000s. Today, ethnically Albanian political parties occupy a small but significant number of seats in Parliament.

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Rep. Dana Rohrabacher told an Albanian TV station he'd consider splitting up Macedonia along ethnic lines.

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Macedonia is currently in a political logjam; neither major party has enough seats in Parliament to form a new government. Zaev has tried to form a coalition government with Albanian parties, but he's been blocked each time.