Macedonia suspends 16 officers over parliament invasion

SKOPJE, Macedonia – Macedonia’s interior ministry says it has suspended 16 police officers, including a senior ministry official, over their failure to prevent an invasion of parliament by protesters.

The incident last month resulted in injuries to dozens of lawmakers, journalists and protesters. The angry mob had stormed parliament after lawmakers clashed over the election of a new speaker.

Eleven police officers, four special police unit members and a senior ministry official have been suspended because they “passively observed a crowd who entered and moved freely within the parliament … contrary to the police rule book and professional code of ethics,” the ministry said Saturday.

It said disciplinary proceedings had been initiated.