Macedonian ministers, head of intelligence service resign

Macedonian ministers, head of intelligence service resign

SKOPJE -- Macedonian Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska, Minister of Transport Mile Janasijeski, and head of the intelligence service Saso Mijalkov have resigned.

A Macedonian government spokesman told AFP that Gruevski has accepted their resignations. It is also expected that State Prosecutor Marko Zvrlevski will resign.

Gruevski also submitted a proposal to parliament to elect two new members of the government - Mitko Cvakov as interior minister, and Vlada Misajlovski as minister of transport, the news agency MIA reported.

These developments came in the wake of the clash in the northern Macedonian town of Kumanovo last weekend between the police and a group of armed terrorists.

Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki told the Vienna daily Die Presse that the police action in Kumanovo was directed against "a terrorist group with a criminal background."

Their planned political agenda did not met with support, and the situation "cannot be compared with the Albanian insurrection of 2001," he said.

According to him, a large quantity of weapons have been seized in Kumanovo. 14 members of the group have been killed and three arrested.

Poposki pointed out that the police operation was very risky, "as evidenced by the fact that eight policemen were killed and 37 wounded."

Poposki added that so far five leaders of the group that have been identified are "known criminals," and that their previous police records concern "for example, armed robbery." Most came from Kosovo, the minister explained, and added there were also citizens of Macedonia and Albania in the group that clashed with the police.

"We can confirm that...