United Nations, United States - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for calm to return to Macedonia after violence left 22 dead in the worst clashes since the country's 2001 ethnic conflict.
Ban said in a statement that he was alarmed by the clashes in the northern town of Kumanovo and urged all sides to "cooperate to restore calm and to fully investigate the events in an objective and transparent manner."
He appealed for those involved to "exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from any rhetoric and/or actions that may escalate tensions further."
The violence in Kumanovo, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Skopje, raised concerns about an upsurge in ethnic fighting in the volatile Balkan region.
AFP
