There is no reason for concern, yet the authorities should be more careful, experts say in regard to what happened recently on the Macedonia-Kosovo border and the police discovery of four bunkers with weapons near the Blace border crossing and of a hand launcher in Struga a day later. The weapons, according to the estimates of the security services, were kept by an extremist group that could destabilize not only Macedonia but also the region.

Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska says the police have full control of the situation and that the action they took was in line with the severity of the risk. In her view, former NLA commander Xhezair Shaqiri Hoxha’s warning that Macedonia is being threatened by radical groups that have been bringing arms to Macedonia for three months is unfounded.

“It is evident that this extremist group has potential for incidents. However, the timely action of the Macedonian police in which all the weapons were seized yielded proper results. There is no reason for concern. Police have full control of the entire territory of the country and whenever necessary we are going to react in the harshest possible way, thus sending a clear and unambiguous message that no type of violence will be tolerated,” she said.