22 people injured in Macedonia ethnic protests

AP

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Macedonian police say at least 22 people, including 13 police officers, have been injured in protests in the capital city of Skopje.

The protests, which erupted Friday evening and continued overnight, were started by ethnic Macedonians angry at the appointment of a new defense minister, an ethnic Albanian and former rebel commander in the 2001 conflict that pitted Macedonian's two main ethnic groups against one another.

Ethnic Albanians staged a counter-protest in the capital Saturday. Both protests turned violent, with ethnic Macedonians and Albanians taking turns to scuffle with police but, so far, not with one another.

Talat Xhaferi was named defense minister two weeks ago, sparking protests that escalated Friday.

Police say 18 arrests have been made so far; five of the arrested are minors.