UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF CASUALTIES
By Kayhan Gul
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AA) - A Macedonian lawmaker is in critical condition and eight more have suffered injuries after masked protesters attacked and sequestered them inside the parliament on Thursday, local news outlets reported.
The protesters demonstrating in front of the parliament in the capital Skopje stormed the building after ethnic Albanian Talat Xhaferi was elected as speaker.
Live television footage showed anti-Albanian protestors injuring the leader of the Social Democrats Zoran Zaev. The majority coalition led by his party supported Xhaferi.
At least 30 MPs have been rescued from the parliament building amid ongoing tensions, according to reports.
The demonstrations have been organized by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE).
According to a source in the parliament building, whose identity has been withheld for their safety, an armed group has sequestered several journalists.
The source said over the phone several journalists were taken into a dark room.
The demonstrators asked the journalists which media outlet they worked for and two journalists were heavily beaten and bloodied, according to the source.