The seventh day of protest in Tirana ended with a heavy toll of tension: attacks on the building of the Court of Appeal, scattered clashes across several arteries of the capital, and repeated police intervention with tear gas and water cannons. The official version speaks of identified individuals, arrests and seized pyrotechnic materials, while developments on the ground showed a situation that slipped out of control several times.
From peaceful gathering to the first escalation
The protest began during the morning under heightened police presence and checks in central Tirana. In Skanderbeg Square, the bags of several young people were checked, and protesters later moved in front of the Ministry of Education.
In the early hours, the gathering appeared calm, with songs, dancing and chants directed at police officers. But at around 12:30 p.m., the atmosphere changed markedly: some protesters tore up paving slabs and stones from the sidewalk, and shortly afterward stone-throwing and firecrackers were directed at the police.
Police used gas and water as clashes spread to several areas
At around 1:00 p.m., after stones and pyrotechnic devices were thrown, police intervened with tear gas and water cannon trucks to disperse the crowd near the Ministry of Education. The clashes then shifted to Rruga e Durrësit and the area known as “Kafe Flora.”
Through a megaphone, officers called on citizens to leave the road, while not allowing protesters to regroup. The crowd’s movements later continued toward the Dëshmorët e Kombit boulevard, making the protest more scattered and harder to control.
Attack on the Court of Appeal and the police response
At around 2:00 p.m., a group of masked protesters headed toward the Court of Appeal in Tirana and attacked the building. Doors and windows were broken with hard objects, while some of them managed to enter the interior premises, where staff were also present.
Images from inside the institution showed the damage caused. After this episode, police began dispersing the groups and escorting those involved. According to the Police, 20 people have been identified over the damage to the doors and windows of the Court of Appeal, five have been arrested and 15 others have been declared wanted. According to the same official version, a quantity of pyrotechnic substances was also seized.
Fresh tensions at the Ministry of Interior and on the main roads
After several hours outside the Prime Minister’s Office without clashes, the situation became tense again at around 6:00 p.m., when protesters began marching along the boulevard and approached the Ministry of Interior. There, according to reports from the ground, the crowd split into two groups and struck the building with pyrotechnic devices, while police intervened with water cannon trucks.
Later, the clashes shifted to the intersection between Rruga e Durrësit and Rruga e Kavajës, where fireworks, other pyrotechnic devices and Molotov cocktails were thrown toward police officers. Police again responded with water and tear gas. The march continued toward Rruga e Dibrës, where for several moments protesters found themselves surrounded by police forces.
Political calls and tensions beyond Tirana
Before the gathering began, Prime Minister Edi Rama called for dialogue “without conditions” and urged people to distance themselves from violence. On the other side, Sali Berisha declared the opposition’s support for the protest and repeated the demand for the government’s departure.
Tensions did not remain only in the capital. Gatherings and marches were also reported in other cities, while in Kurbin there were clashes and Molotov cocktails thrown at the Municipality building, where flames were reported at the entrance. In Tirana, clashes also continued in the Medrese area and behind the Museum, where protesters set several garbage bins on fire in an attempt to slow police movement.
The events of this day highlighted not only the degree of tension in the streets, but also the weakness of the authorities in keeping the situation under control without allowing the capital to slide into repeated episodes of violence.
Beyond political statements and official tallies, the essential question remains how the protest was allowed to move from a gathering in the center to an attack on a judicial institution and scattered clashes in several parts of Tirana.