Albanian riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons against hundreds of student demonstrators in the capital, Tirana, as a protest over deteriorating education standards and social conditions erupted into violent clashes.

Protesters converged on the Ministry of Education, hurling bricks and concrete blocks at the building while vocally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Student organisers stated that the mobilization was driven by severe grievances regarding university infrastructure, escalating higher education costs, insufficient financial aid, and dismal post-graduation employment prospects.

Police authorities reported that at least six officers and one female journalist sustained injuries during the unrest, with 23 individuals subsequently taken into custody. Although law enforcement officials repeatedly urged the crowd to cease their assaults, groups of demonstrators allegedly continued attacking officers with Molotov cocktails, firecrackers, and heavy stones.

Participants voiced intense frustration over persistent economic inequality and the socioeconomic policies enacted by the authorities. One protester, Luljeta Kola, claimed that the nation urgently requires a systemic revolution to rectify the widening wealth gap between the affluent and the impoverished.

In response to the unrest, Deputy Prime Minister Albana Kociu asserted via social media that violence is purportedly never a solution, condemning the attacks on state institutions and public infrastructure. The European regime in Tirana has faced a recurring series of anti-government demonstrations since May, fueled by ongoing corruption scandals and widespread public discontent.

Source: www.aljazeera.com