Macedonia: Albanian party official surrenders to police

Bajram Limani, president of the local branch of the DUI party in Kumanovo, Macedonia, has surrendered to the police.
Source: Beta Friday, July 24, 2015 | 12:49

(Beta/AP, file)

Limani is a suspect in the murder of Xhemail Rexhepi that took place on Thursday afternoon.
The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) is an ethnic Albanian party that is a member of the ruling Macedonian coalition.

Albanian language media are reporting today that the armed incident in Kumanovo was "a showdown between the former and the current DUI leadership in the town after Rexhepi - former 'Commander Shqiponja' of the disbanded National Liberation Army (ONA) - became a candidate for president of the DUI Kumanovo branch."

Before turning himself in to the police, Limani told Albanian language TV station Alsat-M that he was "sorry about the murder but that the pistol was used in self-defense," and that he and his colleagues "came under attack and acted in self-defense."

Macedonia's media are quoting police sources to report that eight persons took part in the shooting incident in Kumanovo on Thursday, and that security cameras recorded the whole event.

Rexhepi was shot and killed while sitting in a cafe in Kumanovo's Bedinje neighborhood. Two other persons who were with him were wounded, one lightly and the other seriously.

The DUI party last night called on the authorities to "clear up completely" the armed incident that resulted in Rexhepi's death.