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Police tighten security as North Macedonia, Bulgaria honour national hero

Police stepped up security on Saturday as North Macedonia and Bulgaria commemorated a 19th-century revolutionary claimed by both neighbours as a hero at a ceremony expected to be attended by nationalists from the two countries. The two Balkan states have had tense relations since 2020, when European Union member Bulgaria blocked the start of accession talks with North Macedonia over disputes relating to history and language. Police sealed off the area around the Church of Holy Salvation in Skopje, where North Macedonian officials laid wreaths on the 151st anniversary of the birth of Goce Delcev, a revolutionary hailed by both countries as a national hero in the fight for liberation from the Ottoman rule.