Some 30,000 supporters of conservative Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski gathered in downtown Skopje on Monday, a day after thousands of opposition demonstrators marched through the capital accusing the premier of corruption and illegal wiretapping and demanding his resignation.

The pro-Gruevski rally was being held outside the parliament building, just some two kilometres (1.5 miles) away from where hundreds of opposition supporters were camping out in front of government offices, according to AFP journalists.