Scores of people were reportedly injured as demonstrators fought their way through a police cordon and stormed the Macedonian Parliament amid ethnic tensions in the small country.

Over 100 people were injured during violence in Skopje on Thursday evening, including 22 police officers and at least three MPs, local media say. The scuffles came as nationalist Macedonian protesters were angered by the election of an ethnic Albanian as parliamentary speaker. The controversial move escalated the ethnic tensions amongst the 2.1 million residents of the small country, which has been locked in a political crisis since 2015.

Some 200 people forced their way into the parliament building after the vote took place. Live footage from the scene shows camera stands and other equipment being hurled at a group of defending lawmakers.

Zoran Zaev, leader of the Social Democrats party (SDSM), apparently received a head injury and is seen with his face and shirt covered in blood. Witnesses said they also saw blood in some of the hallways of the parliament after police cleared the protesters from the building and used stun grenades to disperse the crowds outside.

“In an attempt to take the situations inside and outside the parliament under control, we have ordered police to use all measures,” the interim government’s interior minister, Agim Nuhiu, said in a televised interview justifying the police action.

Thursday’s violence is just the latest episode in a political crisis that was triggered by the fall of the country’s government after a wiretapping scandal in 2015. Macedonia held new parliamentary elections in December of 2016, in which the previously ruling conservative VMRO-DPMNE won 51 seats to the SDSM’s 49.

However, the socialists proposed a minority coalition with parties representing the Albanian ethnic minority, which comprise roughly a third of Macedonia’s population.

As a condition of participation, the Albanian parties have been insisting on a seven-point platform that includes making Albanian an official language in Macedonia. The plan is said to have been co-authored with the government of Albania, which has triggered protests from Macedonian nationalists. Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has refused to give Zaev a mandate to form a new government.

The protesters were voicing their disapproval of the coalition electing Talat Xhaferi, a former defence minister from the ethnic Albanian DUI party, as president of the parliament.

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The clashes on Thursday came after the coalition elected Talat Xhaferi, a former defense minister from the ethnic Albanian DUI party, as president of the parliament. VMRO-DPMNE MPs have accused the Social Democrat-led coalition of violating parliamentary voting procedures.

President Ivanov invited leaders of all political parties for a meeting on Friday morning to try to find a way to resolve the situation.

This is Macedonia’s worst crisis since 2001, when ethnic tensions brought it to the brink of civil war. The situation was defused when the EU promised the country eventual membership.

EU officials have condemned the violence at Macedonia’s parliament and called on its political parties to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis. European Council President Donald Tusk visited the country earlier in April to meet with President Ivanov.

“I came here with the strong message from the EU leaders that commitment to European perspectives is unequivocal,” Tusk said at the time. “I therefore hope that you will continue to follow this compass and avoid anything that could further fuel tensions also along ethnic lines,” he added.

Russia has called on foreign politicians to stop putting pressure on Skopje and allow the Macedonians solve their own problems on their own terms. Moscow said the eagerness on the part of EU officials to hail the election of Xhaferi, despite his questionable legitimacy, has contributed to the country’s tensions.

Macedonia’s progress towards EU membership has been blocked by Athens over a naming dispute. There is a province called Macedonia in Greece, which considers the use of its name by the former Yugoslavian republic illegitimate.</s>Scores of protesters, many wearing masks, broke through a police cordon and entered Macedonia's parliament late Thursday, attacking lawmakers to protest the election of a new speaker despite a months-long deadlock in talks to form a new government.

The protesters stormed parliament after the country's opposition Social Democrats and parties representing Macedonia's ethnic Albanian minority voted for a new speaker. Shouting and throwing chairs, the protesters attacked lawmakers, including opposition leader Zoran Zaev, who television footage showed bleeding from the forehead.

Television footage showed Zaev and other Social Democrat lawmakers surrounded by protesters waving national flags, shouting "traitors" and refusing to allow them to leave.

Macedonia has been without a government since December, when former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's conservative party won elections, but without enough votes to form a government.

Coalition talks broke down over ethnic Albanian demands that Albanian be recognized as an official second language. One-fourth of Macedonia's population is ethnic Albanian.

Zaev has been seeking a mandate to form a government for months, after reaching an agreement with an ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, to form a coalition government. However, President Gjorge Ivanov refused to hand him the mandate.

The Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, as the Balkan nation's parliament is known, has been deadlocked for three weeks over electing a new speaker. Zaev had suggested earlier Thursday that one could be elected outside normal procedures, an idea immediately rejected by the conservative party as an attempted coup.

Zaev went ahead with the vote, and a majority in parliament elected Talat Xhaferi, a former defense minister and member of the Democratic Union for Integration.

Police said about 10 officers were injured during the melee and that reinforcements have been sent to assist those inside the parliament building.

DUI party spokesman Artan Grubi told Telma TV in a telephone interview that Zaev and three other lawmakers had been injured.

"This is a sad day for Macedonia," Grubi said.

The protesters who stormed parliament Thursday night were among a group of demonstrators who have been holding protest rallies nightly for the past two months in the streets of Skopje and other cities in the country over the political situation. Many are supporters of Gruevski.

European Union Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn condemned Thursday's violence, saying in a tweet that "Violence has NO place in Parliament. Democracy must run its course."

Sweden's ambassador to Macedonia, Mats Staffansson, speaking on behalf of other European diplomats, reminded the country's politicians of the need for dialogue and said "it is the responsibility of the police of this country to make sure that this kind of violence does not happen."</s>Scores of protesters have broken through a police cordon and stormed Macedonia's parliament, attacking politicians amid anger over the election of an ethnic Albanian as speaker.

The protesters entered the parliament after the opposition Social Democrats and parties representing Macedonia's ethnic Albanian minority voted for the new speaker.

Shouting and throwing chairs, the protesters attacked politicians including opposition leader Zoran Zaev, who television footage showed bleeding from the forehead.

Footage showed Mr Zaev and other Social Democrats surrounded by protesters waving national flags, shouting "traitors" and refusing to allow them to leave.

Macedonia has been without a government since December, when former prime minister Nikola Gruevski's conservative party won an election but did not secure enough votes to form a government.

Coalition talks broke down over ethnic Albanian demands that Albanian be recognised as an official second language. One-fourth of Macedonia's population is ethnic Albanian.

Mr Zaev has been seeking a mandate to form a government for months, after reaching an agreement with an ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, to form a coalition.

However, President Gjorge Ivanov refused to hand him the mandate.

The Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, as the Balkan nation's parliament is known, has been deadlocked for three weeks over electing a new speaker.

Mr Zaev had suggested earlier on Thursday that one could be elected outside normal procedures, an idea immediately rejected by the conservative party as an attempted coup.

Mr Zaev went ahead with the vote, and a majority in parliament elected Talat Xhaferi, a former defence minister and member of the Democratic Union for Integration.

Police said about 10 officers were injured during the melee and that reinforcements were sent to assist those inside the parliament building.

The protesters were among a group of demonstrators who have been holding rallies nightly for the past two months in the streets of Skopje and other cities in the country over the political situation. Many are supporters of Mr Gruevski.

Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in a tweet that ''Violence has NO place in Parliament. Democracy must run its course''.

Sweden's ambassador to Macedonia Mats Staffansson, speaking on behalf of other European diplomats, reminded the country's politicians of the need for dialogue and said ''it is the responsibility of the police of this country to make sure that this kind of violence does not happen''.</s>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Chaos swept into Macedonia’s parliament Thursday as demonstrators stormed the building and attacked lawmakers to protest the election of a new speaker despite a months-old deadlock in efforts to form a new government.

Clashes over several hours injured 77 people, including 22 police officers and several lawmakers, authorities said. Neighboring countries along with the European Union and United States expressed concern at the small Balkan nation’s escalating political crisis.

Dozens of protesters, some of them masked, broke through a police cordon after the opposition Social Democrats and parties representing Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian minority voted to name a new parliament speaker.

Many of the protesters were supporters of former prime minister Nikola Gruevski, whose conservative party won elections in December but didn’t get enough votes to form a government on its own. He has been struggling to put together a coalition government and his supporters have been holding nightly street rallies for two months across the country to protest the political situation.

Shouting, hurling chairs and grabbing camera tripods abandoned by startled journalists, the protesters attacked lawmakers, including opposition leader Zoran Zaev, who was seen bleeding from the forehead. TV footage showed a bloodied Zaev and other Social Democrat lawmakers surrounded by protesters waving national flags, shouting “traitors” and refusing to allow them to leave.

A tense standoff lasted several hours, and hundreds of protesters swarmed through the parliament building. Police said 30 lawmakers and a number of journalists who had been trapped inside were eventually evacuated safely.

After being initially overwhelmed, police fired flash grenades and clashed with protesters, expelling them from the building.

Lawmaker Ziadin Sela, who heads a small ethnic Albanian party, was the most seriously injured, police said.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov went on television to appeal for calm and “for reasonable and responsible behavior.” Speaking in a brief address to the nation, Ivanov said he had summoned the leaders of the country’s main political parties for a meeting Friday.

The U.S. Embassy in Macedonia and senior European Union officials condemned the violence, while neighboring Greece warned that Macedonia might be “sliding into deep political crisis.”

Zaev, 42, was later cheered by hundreds of supporters when he appeared with several lawmakers from his party outside the Social Democratic headquarters in the capital of Skopje.

In a statement, the party accused rival conservatives of inciting the violence and stirring “hatred and division” among the Macedonian people.

Macedonia has been without a government since the elections. Coalition talks broke down over ethnic Albanian demands that Albanian be recognized as an official second language. One-fourth of Macedonia’s population is ethnic Albanian.

Amid the coalition negotiations, the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, as the Balkan nation’s parliament is known, has been deadlocked for three weeks over electing a new speaker.

Zaev suggested early in the day that a speaker could be elected outside normal procedures, an idea immediately rejected by the prime minister’s party as an attempted coup. Zaev went ahead with the vote, and a majority in parliament elected Talat Xhaferi, a former defense minister and member of the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration. Protesters exploded in anger and fought their way into the building.

Despite the return of calm, a small group of demonstrators ignored instructions by police to leave the area early Friday and they set up tents in a small park near parliament.

Associated Press writers Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, and Derek Gatopoulos and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.</s>Scores of protesters, many wearing masks, broke through a police cordon and entered Macedonia's parliament late Thursday, attacking lawmakers to protest the election of a new speaker despite a months-long deadlock in talks to form a new government.

The protesters stormed parliament after the country's opposition Social Democrats and parties representing Macedonia's ethnic Albanian minority voted for a new speaker.

Shouting and throwing chairs, the protesters attacked lawmakers, including opposition leader Zoran Zaev, who television footage showed bleeding from the forehead.

Television footage showed Zaev and other Social Democrat lawmakers surrounded by protesters waving national flags, shouting 'traitors' and refusing to allow them to leave.

A Reuters witness saw nationalist protesters angered over Xhaferi's election beating up another lawmaker in parliament. Broken glass littered the floor and traces of blood were seen in hallways.

Some of the roughly 200 protesters inside the parliament were masked.

Witnesses said that police entered parliament after the disturbances erupted but did not immediately seek to quell the protesters.

"The acts of violence in the Parliament are wholly unacceptable," Mogherini said in a statement.

Police said eight people including an ethnic Albanian lawmaker were injured in Thursday's violence.

President Gjorge Ivanov invited leaders of all political parties for a meeting in his office on Friday.

Macedonia has been without a government since December, when former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's conservative party won elections, but without enough votes to form a government.

Coalition talks broke down over ethnic Albanian demands that Albanian be recognized as an official second language. One-fourth of Macedonia's population is ethnic Albanian.

Zaev has been seeking a mandate to form a government for months, after reaching an agreement with an ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, to form a coalition government. However, President Gjorge Ivanov refused to hand him the mandate.

The Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, as the Balkan nation's parliament is known, has been deadlocked for three weeks over electing a new speaker.

Zaev had suggested earlier Thursday that one could be elected outside normal procedures, an idea immediately rejected by the conservative party as an attempted coup.

Zaev went ahead with the vote, and a majority in parliament elected Talat Xhaferi, a former defense minister and member of the Democratic Union for Integration.

Police said about ten officers were injured during the melee and that reinforcements have been sent to assist those inside the parliament building.

DUI party spokesman Artan Grubi told Telma TV in a telephone interview that Zaev and three other lawmakers had been injured.

'This is a sad day for Macedonia,' Grubi said.

The protesters who stormed parliament Thursday night were among a group of demonstrators who have been holding protest rallies nightly for the past two months in the streets of Skopje and other cities in the country over the political situation.

Many are supporters of Gruevski.

European Union Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn condemned Thursday's violence, saying in a tweet that 'Violence has NO place in Parliament. Democracy must run its course'.

Sweden's ambassador to Macedonia, Mats Staffansson, speaking on behalf of other European diplomats, reminded the country's politicians of the need for dialogue and said 'it is the responsibility of the police of this country to make sure that this kind of violence does not happen.'</s>Socialist SDSM party leader Zoran Zaev and 10 police officers were injured in a confrontation as Macedonia’s parliament in capital city Skopje was stormed on April 27, reports from the capital city said.

Streets adjoining the parliament building in Skopje were cleared and loud noises were heard, possibly smoke bombs as police tried to clear protesters from the parliament building, Bulgarian National Television reported from Skopje.

An operational headquarters was set up, involving all heads of the special and police services.

Police chiefs in the Republic of Macedonia issued an order to secure the parliament building and enable the safe evacuation of members of the assembly, and restore peace and order, reports said.

According to reports from Skopje, protesters rushed into the Macedonian parliament after Zaev’s Social Democrats and ethnic Albanian parties chose Albanian Talat Xhaferi as parliament speaker.

The election caused uproar among nationalist politicians in the Republic of Macedonia.

Macedonia’s president Gjorge Ivanov called for unity and urged protesters to calm down and go home.

Xhaferi was the first Albanian elected to become parliament speaker since Macedonia became independent in 1991.

After being elected today with the SDSM’s vote, Xhaferi delivered his speech in Albanian.

Nationalists, identified as being supporters of Nikola Gruevski’s VMRO-DPMNE political grouping, were angered by the vote and intruded into the plenary hall.

At least four MPs were assaulted: Zaev, Radmila Shekerinska, Damyan Manchevski – all three frpm the SDSM, as well as Ziadanin Sella of the Alliance for Albanians.

Gruevski has called for the cessation of violence and the calming of the situation, reports from Skopje said.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn condemned the violent protests in the Macedonian parliament. Hahn said on Twitter that “I condemn the attacks on MPs in Skopje in the strongest terms. Violence has NO place in Parliament. Democracy must run its course”.

In the December 11 2016 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Macedonia, Gruevski’s party narrowly won the largest share of votes, but failed to form a coalition with Albanian minority parties so they could continue to govern

Zaev’s SDSM has negotiated a coalition with three Albanian parties and has created a new majority in the parliament of 69 deputies out of 120.

However, President Ivanov, a close ally of Gruevski, has refused to give Zaev a mandate to seek to form a government, accusing the new coalition of intending to break up Macedonia.

In Sofia, capital of Macedonia’s neighbour Bulgaria, Boiko Borissov – leader of centre-right party GERB and expected to return as Bulgaria’s prime minister in the coming week or so – said that he was alarmed by the situation in the Macedonian parliament.

“I urge citizens to keep the peace and not to provoke provocation,” Borissov said.

“Reforming the rule of law is the only way to make the right decisions in a tense situation Democracy and the law are the right way to resolve the crisis situation. European integration is a guarantor of security and prosperity. Bulgaria will continue to support Macedonia for full EU membership and NATO,” Borissov said.</s>Macedonian nationalists broke into the country’s parliament building after the controversial election of a new speaker.</s>Sign up for one of our email newsletters.

SKOPJE, Macedonia — Chaos swept into Macedonia's parliament Thursday night when protesters stormed the building and attacked lawmakers to protest the election of a new speaker despite a months-old deadlock in efforts to form a new government.

Violence also swirled outside, with police firing stun grenades and clashing with demonstrators massed in front of the parliament building, and several people were injured. Authorities did not immediately confirm local television reports that up to 48 people had been hurt, including protesters and police officers.

Many of the protesters were supporters of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, whose conservative party won elections in December but didn't get enough votes to form a government on its own. He has been struggling to put together a coalition government and his supporters have been holding nightly street rallies for two months across the country to protest the political situation.

Dozens of protesters, some of them masked, initially broke through a police cordon after the opposition Social Democrats and parties representing Macedonia's ethnic Albanian minority voted to name a new parliament speaker.

Shouting, hurling chairs and grabbing camera tripods abandoned by startled journalists, the protesters attacked lawmakers, including opposition leader Zoran Zaev, who was seen bleeding from the forehead. TV footage showed a bloodied Zaev and other Social Democrat lawmakers surrounded by protesters waving national flags, shouting “traitors” and refusing to allow them to leave.

A spokesman for one of the ethnic Albanian parties, the Democratic Union for Integration, told Telma TV that three other lawmakers were also injured.

“This is a sad day for Macedonia,” the spokesman, Artan Grubi, said.

Police said lawmaker Ziadin Sela, who heads another ethnic Albanian party, was the most seriously injured and was taken to the emergency room of a Skopje clinic. Police said that about 10 officers were injured during the melee and that reinforcements had been sent to assist those inside the parliament building.

After several hours of a tense standoff, with hundreds of protesters swarming through the parliament building, police said 30 lawmakers and a number of journalists who had been trapped inside had been safely evacuated. Television station Alsat M.TV in Albania broadcast a picture of Zaev leaving the building, his head heavily bandaged.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov went on television to appeal for calm and “for reasonable and responsible behavior.” Speaking in a brief address to the nation, Ivanov said he had summoned the leaders of the country's main political parties for a meeting Friday.

“Lawmakers are primarily responsible for restoring the situation in accordance to the constitution and laws, which were violated today,” he said.

Macedonia has been without a government since the elections. Coalition talks broke down over ethnic Albanian demands that Albanian be recognized as an official second language. One-fourth of Macedonia's population is ethnic Albanian.

Amid the coalition negotiations, the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, as the Balkan nation's parliament is known, has been deadlocked for three weeks over electing a new speaker.

Zaev, the opposition leader injured in the melee, suggested earlier in the day that a speaker could be elected outside normal procedures, an idea immediately rejected by the prime minister's party as an attempted coup. Zaev went ahead with the vote, and a majority in parliament elected Talat Xhaferi, a former defense minister and member of the Democratic Union for Integration. Protesters exploded in anger and fought their way into the building.

Both the European Union and the United States condemned the violence and said they would work with the newly elected speaker.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn issued a joint statement with European Commission Vice President Federica Mogherini calling the violence “wholly unacceptable” and urging calm and restraint.

“Democracy must run its course. We take positive note of the election of Talat Xhaferi as Speaker of the Parliament, as reported,” they said.

The U.S. Embassy condemned the violence “in the strongest terms,” saying in a statement that the assault “is not consistent with democracy and is not an acceptable way to resolve differences.”

The embassy noted that Xhaferi was elected by a majority of lawmakers. “We will work with him to support democracy and to advance the interests of Macedonia,” it said.</s>Violence has broken out in Skopje as protesters stormed a Parliamentary session in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The country is currently without a formal government as electoral deadlock has resulted in a protracted conflict between the centre-right VMRO-DPMNE and the country’s President Gjorge Ivanov on one side versus Zoran Zaev’s Social Democrats and ethnic Albanian parties on the other.

Ivanov has refused to allow Zaev to form a government as the Social Democrats would have to rely on sectarian Albanian parties in order to remain in power.

This is widely understood as something which will rip open the fragile status quo in a country where Albanians are agitating for extended autonomy on top of that which they all ready achieved in the Ohrid Agreement of 2001.

Others are calling for the effective break-up of the small country and the creation of a so-called Greater Albania, where by the current Republic of Albania would absorb regions of the current Macedonian state.

READ MORE: Albanian PM threatens to annex part of Serbia if the EU doesn’t admit Albania

Protests have been a common occurrence in Skopje for months, but yesterday the protests came to Parliament as the legislative body attempted to elect Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albania as the President (sometimes referred to as Speaker) of Parliament.

Zoran Zaev appeared to be injured during the fracas.

Albanians throughout the Balkans have become increased radicalised in recent years and certain Albanians have been openly calling for the annexation of territory belonging to several states including Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and even Greece.

Yesterday’s protests were a clear demonstration of the fact that in spite of western support for Albanian radicals, the majority of Macedonians do not want their state torn apart by sectarian government.</s>SKOPJE (Reuters) - Protesters entered Macedonia's parliament after the governing Social Democrats and ethnic Albanian parties voted to elect an Albanian as parliament speaker on Thursday, witnesses said.

A Reuters witness said a nationalist crowd angered over the move sallied shortly afterwards into the main chamber of parliament in the capital Skopje, though no violence was seen.

Talat Xhaferi became the first ethnic Albanian parliament speaker in Macedonia since the small Balkan country won independence from then-Yugoslavia in 1991. Macedonia went to the brink of civil war during an insurgency by minority Albanians in 2001 before international mediation defused the situation.
The Macedonian Parliament is stormed by protesters opposing the election of Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian, as Speaker of the Assembly.