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Originally published at The Balkan.
Masked protesters attacked Police Station No. 3 in the Albanian capital of Tirana on Sunday with a barrage of Molotov cocktails, fireworks and stones. The attack set the first floor of the police station on fire and forced riot police to retreat. About 10 officers were injured in the attack, Albania's police chief, Skënder Hita, said, according to the Albanian Daily News. The fire was brought under control by firefighters.
Hita called it a serious and unprecedented action and said the attack on a police station is not a protest. The police station was put in danger, as well as the people who were being held inside. Hita said the police are trying to identify the perpetrators of the act and will give the evidence to the prosecutors.
Footage circulating online appears to show a police line retreating in a panic after protesters hurled crude firebombs made from fuel-filled plastic bottles with fireworks attached. CDM has not independently verified this footage.
The attack came on the sixth day of the protests, which demand Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation and have also seen fires at banks and at the Supreme Court. Al Jazeera reported that police used rubber bullets on Saturday for the first time during the unrest, and that in the first five days of unrest, 167 people have been arrested. 132 police officers have been injured in the clashes. 7 officers have been suspended from duty while an investigation takes place into whether they exceeded their authority.
Rama has refused to step down. The prime minister has been accusing his political opponents of fueling the violence, Al Jazeera reported. He has also issued a warning to those who continue to destroy property. Student-led protests that have been going on for several days have joined with the long-running Flamingo movement, whose initial aim was to prevent a high-end resort from being built on the southern coast of Albania. They are now demonstrating against corruption and also demanding better education and more jobs for young people.
