Dutch embassy in Macedonia evacuated after explosive

The Dutch Embassy in Skopje was briefly evacuated on Monday after a small explosive device was found under a car parked nearby, police said.

Photo: Dutch embassy in Macedonia evacuated after explosive

Police sealed off the street in the Macedonian capital's center, and explosives experts safely disabled the device, which was found under a lawyer's car.

Police spokesman Boris Pesevski said the device was probably a hand grenade, but the motive for the apparent attempted attack was unclear.

Netherlands foreign ministry spokesman Dirk-Jan Vermeij said the embassy resumed operations after an assurance from Macedonian authorities that the embassy was not the target of the explosive device.

"All our workers have returned to work," he said. "We had evacuated our staff as a precaution."

Macedonia has traditionally good relations with the Netherlands, where a large number of Macedonians work, reports the AP.

I.L.