Forgotten World (203): Macedonia
Following the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Macedonia was spared the inter-ethnic violence that scarred much of the Balkans and became independent in 1991, but a decade later it came close to civil war as a result of the challenge of the ethnic Albanians who make up a quarter of the population of 2 million.
The conflict created a wave of refugees and the rebels made territorial gains. After months of skirmishes, EU and NATO support enabled the president, Boris Trajkovski, to strike a peace deal. Under the Ohrid agreement, Albanian fighters laid down their arms in return for greater ethnic-Albanian recognition within a unitary state.
The country’s name remains a contentious issue. It is still referred to formally as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). A large part of historic Macedonia is in Greece and much smaller parts are in Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria. In December 2008, Macedonia decided to take the issue of its name to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.