| Around 1500 Muslims protested today in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, demanding the release of the radical Islamists who were arrested by the Macedonian police on May 2 for the cold-blooded execution of four Macedonian teenagers and one middle-aged man while they were fishing in the Skopje area on Good Friday this year. The arrests were made following an intensive 3 week investigation. Macedonians are predominantly Christian, while the ethnic Albanian minority that accounts for around 20% of the population in Macedonia is predominantly Muslim. In the last decade there has been an increase in incidences of religious extremism, imported by radical Islamists from the Middle East, but this has not found a fertile ground among the Macedonian Albanians. Islamist terrorists cells have been reported all over south-eastern Europe, including Macedonia. The Macedonian police assured that the protest and march through the streets didn't take a chaotic turn. The radical Islamist protesters chanted "Allahu Akbar", "Death to Christians", "War on the Christians", and brandished Al Qaeda insignias. The Macedonian police have arrested three of five suspects directly implicated with the horrific crime, the likes of which Macedonia has not seen since WWII. All the neighbouring countries have offered their support to the Macedonian Interior Ministry for the capture of the two remaining suspects, who are on the run and for whom Interpol warrants have already been issued. |
