Balkan Leaders Condemn Xenophobia After Paris Attacks

Authorities in Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia said they are on heightened alert about possible militants concealing themselves among the refugees using the Balkan route to reach Western Europe after unconfirmed reports that one of the Paris attack suspects passed through the region.

But some political leaders and rights campaigners also issued warnings that the Paris attacks should not be directly linked to the refugee issue or used to stoke ethnic hatred.

Macedonia's Security Council on Sunday ordered the military to stand ready for the possible construction of a barbed-wire fence on the southern border with Greece, the main entry point for refugees, should Western European countries limit the numbers allowed in.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov insisted however that the fence would "not be aimed at closing the border, but at channelling and limiting the [refugee] flow".

Meanwhile Uranija Pirovska, the head of the Macedonian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, urged that the Paris attacks should not be linked to the ongoing refugee crisis.

"We are already facing serious hate speech, even hatred-driven incidents towards those who are helping refugees," Pirovska said.

The annual March of Tolerance on Sunday in the Macedonian capital Skopje was dedicated to refugees and calls for tolerance and compassion about their ordeal. A minute's silence for the victims of the Paris attacks was also observed at the march, which was attended by French ambassador Laurence Auer.

Several Macedonian media speculated meanwhile about the possibility that some of the attackers may have transited the country on their way to France.

Media reported at the weekend that a man holding a Syrian passport which was found at the scene of one of...