Anti-government protests erupt in Albania
Police said 23 people were detained overnight, with six officers and one journalist injured.
A nearby Raiffeisen Bank branch also caught fire, a Reuters witness said. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds, as the student-led protests fed into a broader anti-government movement demanding the resignation of prime minister Edi Rama. Videos circulating from the protests showed burning vehicles and demonstrators dressed in black taking to the streets. Protesters smashed shop windows and erected street barricades using burning rubbish bins, while riot police moved to disperse the crowds. Deputy prime minister Albana Koçiu criticised the destruction of public property while acknowledging the right to protest. “Violence has not been, is not, and will never be a solution. Throwing stones, attacking institutions and the state police, as well as the senseless destruction of public property, are not how youth should express themselves,” Koçiu wrote on Facebook.
Albania’s capital, Tirana, witnessed a fresh outbreak of violence on Wednesday as student protesters clashed with police, vehicles burned and the Education Ministry caught fire during demonstrations over education costs, university conditions and alleged government corruption. The unrest entered its second day on Wednesday after a student rally turned violent late Tuesday.