It is now 21:00 and the protest has ended this Sunday, after a day and evening that saw a frightening confrontation between protesters and the State Police. Protest flames landed at Police Station No. 3, at the doors of several ministries, and at the headquarters of the PS and the PD. The main boulevard has once again turned into a battlefield tonight. This has never happened in the capital, except during World War II! Fire, Molotov cocktails, stones thrown, tear gas, water cannons with solution, hand-to-hand clashes, state buildings and private property in flames. Only firearms were not used!
20:20. State Police fired tear gas this evening at the PD headquarters, where several deputies were unwell. PD deputy Eno Bozdo said they were attacked with tear gas by the State Police. PD deputy chairman Belind Këlliçi accuses Interior Minister Ervin Demo of provoking Democrats by throwing gas into the premises of the blue headquarters. Këlliçi claims dozens of gas canisters were present at the PD headquarters, but according to him, there was no incident and no provocation from the Democrats. He described the event as an attempt to equate the situation with the one that occurred earlier at the Socialist Party headquarters, linking it to a scenario of Prime Minister Edi Rama. “Ervin Demo has provoked the Democrats by throwing gas into their headquarters. Here you can see dozens of gas canisters, without any incident. There was no provocation. There was only an attempt to equate the event that happened today at the PS headquarters. It was a scenario of Edi Rama, we warned of it”, Këlliçi declared.
20:00. Clashes at Parliament. The protest has moved near the Parliament building, where the situation became tense after Molotov cocktails were thrown toward police forces. Protesters have confronted law enforcement officers, and the throwing of Molotovs has increased tensions in the area. Police forces continue to remain on the ground to manage the situation, while it remains to be seen how the protest near Parliament will continue.
19:50. After the clashes at the PS headquarters and near the Bank of Albania, protesters have moved onto “Rruga e Kavajës”, while the State Police follows them from behind. The same pattern occurred in the previous hours, when officers followed the protesters on foot through the streets of Tirana.
19:20. Protesters have returned to the Socialist Party headquarters, where at lunchtime this Sunday they threw Molotov cocktails and smashed the windows. Several people armed with sticks came out of the building and attacked the protesters. It is not known whether they are civilian activists or simply members of the Socialist Party.
19:00. Tensions continue on the sixth day of the student protest, which is marked by chaos. Tensions persist between protesters and State Police forces on Martyrs of the Nation Boulevard, where protesters set off fireworks toward water cannon trucks and also used laser pointers. In response, State Police used water cannons to push protesters back and keep the crowd away from the police cordon. The situation remains tense as the standoff between protesters and police continues in the area.
18:16 and protesters have now moved near Police Station No. 3 in Tirana, where they set fire. 4 officers were injured. The area has turned into a real battlefield, with arson also taking place. Protesters set fire to Police Station No. 3 in the capital. Officers are taking emergency measures to extinguish the flames.
A very large number of fireworks were thrown by protesters toward police this evening. Protesters are throwing fireworks at police officers, a scene that took place behind the Bank of Albania. They have left Skanderbeg Square and are trying to return to the Ministry of Education. It is 17:23 and the student protest in Tirana is escalating. Protesters threw a barrage of Molotov cocktails at police, who were lined up facing them, and who had become stuck between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economy. After the Molotov cocktails were thrown, flames broke out at the officers’ feet, while water cannons were immediately aimed at the protesters, starting to disperse them.
State Police are using rubber bullets, following tensions in the area where police had earlier used tear gas and water, while protesters threw stones at the security forces. Clashes are taking place near the police cordon, set up to prevent protesters from advancing toward the Prime Minister’s Office.
Tensions have flared again, with the protest turning into clashes between demonstrators and police. Officers have used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd, while protesters responded by throwing stones at the police. To stop protesters from advancing toward the Prime Minister’s Office, the officers in blue uniforms have formed a security cordon, trying to halt the crowd’s advance. The situation remains tense as the protest continues amid clashes and direct confrontation between the sides.
It is 16:30, and the citizens’ protest in Tirana has spread beyond the “Dëshmorët e Kombit” Boulevard and the disturbances in front of the Prime Minister’s Office, moving into the streets of Tirana. Police are pursuing protesters on foot in the “Zogu i Zi” area, while waste bins were set on fire during the clashes. Water cannon trucks have been deployed and are being used in an attempt to disperse the crowd. The situation remains tense, with police and protesters facing each other.
Three people have so far arrived at the University Trauma Hospital following incidents recorded during the 18 October protest. The news was announced by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in a statement published at 16:00. Those receiving medical treatment are a police officer, a 15-year-old minor and a female media representative. The health condition of all three is reported to be stable. They are undergoing the relevant examinations and receiving treatment from medical and nursing staff.
The time is 15:40, and the clash between protesters and police has moved in front of the Prime Minister’s Office, while the protest is on its sixth day. Students and high school pupils threw a volley of stones toward the water cannon trucks and the officers in blue uniforms. Earlier today, violent incidents were recorded at the Ministry of Education and at the headquarters of the Socialist Party (PS), where protesters smashed the building’s windows. Protesters stopped in front of the Socialist Party headquarters, where they began attacking the building with stones, hitting part of the door and breaking windows. Police forces were in the area but did not intervene immediately. A few moments later, officers fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Meanwhile, from inside the headquarters, several people came out with sticks and attacked the protesters. They said they are members of the Socialist Party. Police then intervened by throwing tear gas and pressurized water at the protesters to disperse them.
Socialist Party parliamentary group leader Taulant Balla reacted sharply to the protest held near the Socialist Party headquarters, accusing the organizers of being backed by paid individuals and foreign influences. In a published message, Balla addressed Sali Berisha, claiming that the people involved in the protest are financed by him, as well as by Agron Shehaj and Arlind Qorri. “Oh Sali, urgently take away the people you sent to the Socialist Party headquarters! They are all your people, paid by you and by Agron Shehaj, Arlind Qorri and foreign hands. Whoever wanted proof of whose protest this is, I believe you’ve got it now”, wrote Balla.
The clashes began earlier near the Ministry of Education, where protesters attacked a police vehicle with stones and Molotov cocktails. Officers in blue uniforms responded with tear gas and pressurized water, causing the crowd to move toward the city center. The toll from the first five days of protests was 272 people injured, including 169 police officers, 82 protesters and 21 passersby.
Today’s protest began with a different scene, as several young people danced and sang in the middle of the road in front of police officers. One of the protesters, after calling on fellow protesters not to use violence against police, and on police not to abuse protesters, tore up, in a sign of revolt, the certificate he had received from former Education Minister Besa Shahini as a winner of the History Olympiad.
After a few moments of calm, tensions resumed and stones were thrown at the police, who remain stationed near the Ministry of Education. A journalist was injured in the clashes and left the protest area by ambulance. Police then moved the crowd toward the center, while some protesters were taken to police stations.
Read also:
Një person goditet nga protestuesit, policia e largon nga turma
VIDEO/ Thirrje zemre në “kohë lufte”, i riu nga qendra e Tiranës: Mace të dua
Balla: B*mbë molotov mbi trupat e Policisë, efektivët po mbrojnë Shqipërinë nga kaosi
Qendra e Tiranës kthehet në shesh lu*te, protestuesit sulmojnë autobotët me molotovë
Forcat Shqiponja gjuajnë me plumba gome, kaos i madh te sheshi ”Skëndërbej”
Photos from the protest
Read also:
17-vjeçari kapet sërish nga Policia, historia e tij u bë virale në rrjet: Nuk dua ta lëndoj tjetrin
3 persona të lënduar gjatë protestës, mes tyre një 15-vjeçar
Policia ndjek protestuesit në rrugicat e Tiranës, të rinjtë djegin kazanët e mbeturinave
Taulant Balla poston foton nga brenda selisë së PS-së: Sali, largoji urgjent njerëzit
RENEA në protestë, Policia: Morëm telefonatë në sallën operative. U rrezikohej jeta efektivëve
Protesta merr tjetër ritëm/ Daulle dhe valle shqiptare në Rrugën e Durrësit
Vlorë/ Qarkullonte me armë zjarri dhe gjahu pa leje, arrestohet 40-vjeçari
65 të lënduar nga protesta, 12 prej tyre ende të shtruar te Trauma
Pas sulmit me flakë, Gjykata e Lartë blindon dritaret me mbrojtëse hekuri
Masa te Kryeministria, hiqen pllakat e betonit nga trotuaret
Si duhet lexuar deklarata e ambasadës së SHBA dhe vendosmeria e kryeministrit sot për Protestën
Kryeministri: RENEA do dali prapë dhe iu heqin maskat, atyre me maska!
Rama: Neutralizuam një dron me eksploziv që do godiste kryeministrinë