Three youngsters attempted to steal a piece of the metal installation of the Magnolia fountain in Bitola.

The fountain, part of a complex honoring King Philip II of Macedon, is shaped in the form of the Kutles/Vergina sun, a symbol found in his burial chamber and hotly contested between Macedonia and Greece. Under the Prespa treaty, Greece demands that Macedonia removes all portrayals of the symbol on its territory, and it already pressured Macedonia to remove if from its flag.

The thieves stripped one large, four meters long strip of metal, and were getting away with it when citizens alerted the police. The three scattered and the piece was found in the near-by park.