Violence mars Macedonia campaign

Violence mars Macedonia campaign

The Macedonian Prime Minister told a general election rally in Bitola that he did not want a hollow victory "scored with violence".

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia goes to the polls on 5 July.

Buckovski said the country needed "fair and democratic elections".

The United States and the European Union have both told Macedonia that almost nightly violent incidents are harming the country's chances of joining NATO and the EU.

On Friday, gunmen in the northern city of Tetovo shot and wounded Abduhalin Kasami, an ally of Ali Ahmeti, who heads the largest ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration.

Macedonia came close to a civil war five years ago when ethnic Albanian fighters demanding more rights for Albanians battled security forces.

The rebels laid down their arms under an EU-backed deal in late 2001 which gave the 25 per cent Albanian minority greater recognition within a unitary state.