The alleged radical Islamic militants arrested over the murder of five men in Macedonia last month have been transferred to the Skopje Criminal Court.

A total of 20 individuals were arrested on Tuesday by Macedonian authorities in a special operation entitled "Monster." Macedonian authorities suspect they are radical Islamists responsible for the murder of five youngsters and one 45-year-old man near Skopje on April 12.

Police have found a significant number of weapons, as well as literature showing the suspects' ideological affiliation, mkd.mk reports.

The five victims, all ethnic Macedonians, were found shot dead on April 12 near an artificial lake at Butel. Four were in their 20s, and the fifth was in his 40s. Media identified the dead as Filip Slavkovski, Aleksandar Nakjevski, Tsvetanco Atsevski, Kire Trickovski and Borce Stefanovski.

Tensions have been simmering in Macedonia since the end of an armed rebellion in 2001, when ethnic Albanian rebels fought Macedonian government forces for about eight months, seeking greater rights for their community. The conflict left 80 people dead, and ended with the intervention of NATO troops.

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