US EditionPolice battle opposition protesters in Albanian capital
Opposition supporters led by Sali Berisha clashed with police demanding PM Rama's resignation over corruption linked to his deputy, with about 30 arrests reported by police.
- On Friday, Albanian police fired water cannon and tear gas to break up anti-corruption protests outside government headquarters and around the parliament in Tirana, battling demonstrators for about two hours.
- Thousands of Democratic Party followers gathered outside government headquarters demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama quit after tensions rose since November when Belinda Balluku, deputy prime minister, was suspended amid a corruption scandal.
- Sali Berisha, former prime minister and Democratic Party leader, led the crowd and told supporters `He is just a political corpse.`, ending his speech soon after fireworks and homemade petrol bombs were hurled, with one exploding near a police vehicle outside the parliament building.
- Police said about 30 people were arrested while the Democratic Party said about 40 were detained, and Interior Minister Albana Kociu condemned the `vandalism` as a `crime`.
- Long‑standing partisan quarrels and corruption probes shape Albania's debate with the European Union, amid protests and investigations of former ministers in Edi Rama's governments.
34 Articles
34 Articles
Police in Tirana used water cannon and tear gas to disperse a protest rally by right-wing opposition supporters on Friday evening, who were throwing fireworks and Molotov cocktails. Several thousand people attended the protest, which called for the resignation of socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama, at the call of the Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
Police in Tirana used water cannon and tear gas to disperse a protest rally by right-wing opposition supporters on Friday evening, who were throwing fireworks and Molotov cocktails. Several thousand people attended the protest, which called for the resignation of socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama, at the call of the Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
On Friday evening, law enforcement forces dispersed a new massive gathering of right-wing opposition supporters in front of the seats of the Albanian government and parliament in Tirana, responding with water cannons to fireworks and Molotov cocktail jets.
Protesters threw sparklers and Molotov cocktails at the prime minister's office
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