Macedonia said on Sunday its police had wiped out a group of ethnic Albanian veterans of insurgencies in ex-Yugoslavia in a day-long gun battle that left at least 22 dead and deepened fears of instability following months of political crisis.
The government said eight police and 14 members of an “armed group” were killed after police staged a raid in an ethnic Albanian area before dawn on Saturday seeking gunmen from outside Macedonia it said were planning to attack civilian and state targets.