Five police officers are reported dead and more than 30 wounded in an operation against gunmen in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. <br /><br /> It happened in a suburb of Kumanovo, around 40 kilometres north of Skopje.<br /><br /> The mainly Albanian neighbourhood of the town was sealed off and residents evacuated amid a day of fighting. <br /><br /> “I have not slept since early this morning, I’m very afraid,” said one woman. <br /><br /> A man added: “We heard shots this morning. We’ll see what happens next.”<br /><br /> The interior ministry said a “well trained terrorist group” had entered Macedonia with a plan to carry out attacks and members were sheltering in Kumanovo.<br /><br /> “We have friends and family there, we know them all,” said a local resident.<br /><br /> “What the authorities are say, that there are terrorists there, is absurd. This is conjured up by the state. It’s a policy of the prime minister, to hide other crimes.”<br /><br /> The fighting comes as Macedonia’s government faces allegations of illegal wire tapping and widespread a
