Skopje Mayor Danela Arsovska is demanding answers from the Interior Ministry after the capital downtown suffered complete traffic gridlock this afternoon. Arsovska said that the situation was caused by an unannounced decision by the Interior Ministry to turn off traffic lights.

This move caused chaos in the city. This is unserious behavior. There was no greater than usual influx of vehicles that would excuse this situation. Citizens were forced to stay for hours in their cars on their way home from work, Mayor Arsovska said.

The city utility company that manages roads said that the Interior Ministry did not inform them before they decided to turn off the traffic lights and that there is no word from the police when will the lights be turned on again.

Interior Ministry officials told the SDK news site that they decided to regulate traffic using police officers because of the rain and the higher frequency of vehicles.