AP, February 21, 2003
Shadowy ethnic Albanian group claims responsibility for blast in Macedonia
SKOPJE, Macedonia - A shadowy ethnic Albanian group claimed responsibility on its Web site Sunday for a powerful blast in Macedonia that destroyed a local court building.
The statement said a unit of the so-called Albanian National Army attacked the local court in the Albanian-dominated town of Struga for "conducting political trials against innocent Albanians."
A powerful explosion, detonated remotely, destroyed the wall of a local court in the western Macedonian town on Friday. Several apartment buildings were damaged, but no one was injured.
Police, however, said the attack was in retaliation for the recent arrest of a man suspected of human trafficking, Dilaver Bojku.
Bojku - known by his nickname Leku - was arrested by police last week in Struga, 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of the capital, Skopje.
In the statement, the group said it "planned, organized and executed" the attack in revenge for alleged arrests of dozens of ethnic Albanians. The group claimed that those arrested were innocent and had been targeted for ethnic reasons.
The statement warned of more attacks against the courts. The group has taken responsibility for several attacks in Macedonia, but the claims have not been proven.
Macedonia remains volatile after a 2001 conflict between ethnic Albanian insurgents and Macedonian government troops. The fighting ended with a Western-brokered peace deal under which the Macedonian parliament amended the constitution and enacted laws that gave ethnic Albanians more rights and the rebels amnesty. The main rebel leaders have since become politicians, and are now coalition partners in the government.
The rebels surrendered their weapons to NATO, but several splinter groups are believed to remain and occasional violence still plagues the area.
The shadowy group which claimed responsibility for the attack is opposed to the peace plan and advocates the unification of ethnic Albanian-dominated areas in several Balkan countries.
The attack was the latest in a series of incidents in Macedonia which have sparked fears among officials here that violence could escalate in the volatile country.
International officials have so far downplayed speculation that renewed tension could be ahead, saying recent violent incidents are the work of criminal gangs.
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