Albania witnessed, on Friday, the fourth day of violent protests led by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, amid repeated clashes with police in which water cannons and tear gas were used.
Clashes renewed between protesters and police officers in the capital, Tirana, and other areas, where police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse crowds that threw stones, set fire to garbage containers, and erected barriers on roads. Filmed scenes showed one protester throwing a water bottle toward riot police, while water cannons pushed one demonstrator after he threw an object at the police.
The protests extended from the capital to smaller cities, as local reports indicated that the facades of a municipal building and the headquarters of political parties were smashed in the city of Shkodra in the northwest of the country, and southern coastal cities witnessed similar clashes, with reports that students in Korça smashed school windows and cut off roads.
These developments come after months of anti-government protests that began against the backdrop of a luxury resort project linked to the family of US President Donald Trump, and later turned into a symbol of what is described as corruption and inequality. The protesters, most of them students, are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and greater support for students, citing poor university conditions and high tuition fees.
Police had announced the arrest of 160 protesters on Thursday evening on charges related to acts of violence, while authorities reported that dozens were injured, most of them police officers, during clashes that continued until the early hours of Friday morning.
Fire was set at the entrance of the Ministry of Finance, and windows of a university complex were smashed, while hundreds of protesters continued their marches toward the Ministry of Education, which is a focal point in the protests.
(Source: Agencies)
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