Tirana clashes enter fifth day as protests widen

Demonstrators and riot police fought pitched battles in central Tirana on Saturday for the fifth day in a row. By Saturday afternoon the focus had moved to the office of Prime Minister Edi Rama on the city's main boulevard, where crowds were larger than on previous days. BBC

Masked protesters, many described as high school and university students, hurled rocks and petrol bombs at riot police defending the education ministry. Officers answered with water cannon and tear gas, with reports that rubber bullets were used for the first time. Protesters hurled flares and fireworks at police, who responded with baton charges. BBC

Police special forces arrived at dusk to reinforce riot police. Anti-government demonstrators burned government buildings and banks during the October protests, and one protest lasted more than 10 hours with clashes, vandalism and fires in city streets. Reuters

What began in the summer as student demonstrations has grown into a wider anti-government movement calling for the prime minister to resign over corruption allegations linked to his administration. Rama, of the Socialist Party, has been in power in Albania for 13 years.

Rama blamed the protests on the opposition Democratic Party and foreign actors intent on halting Albania's progress toward membership in the European Union, a bloc of European states with common economic and political rules, which he has promised by 2030. He said he will not resign over the protests.

Police said 80 people have been charged with disorder, with hundreds more arrested or under investigation. Albania's state news agency reported 167 arrests in connection with the protests, seven police officers suspended, and 21 officers and 13 protesters receiving medical treatment after clashes. Many people have been injured on both sides. BBC