The 19th day of the protest in Tirana unfolded amid two parallel gatherings, students in front of the Ministry of Education and a protest called by the Democratic Party in front of the Prime Minister’s Office. Later, the two fronts drew closer, the situation escalated, and police intervention moved from megaphone warnings to the use of water cannons and the first detentions.
Two separate protests, then convergence on Durrës Street
Students gathered in front of the Ministry of Education, while opposition supporters, led by Democratic Party MPs, marched toward the Prime Minister’s Office, where they remained for about 30 minutes.
After that, the opposition group moved toward the Ministry of Education, where the students were gathered. At the entrance to Durrës Street, there were chants against both political sides and verbal clashes with a protester who demanded that MPs leave the area.
Tensions rose in front of the Ministry of Education
It was precisely in front of the Ministry of Education that the strongest clashes of the first phase of the protest were recorded. According to police, a group of masked individuals threw stones and hard objects at officers, while other participants were asked to distance themselves.
Despite the warnings, some of the protesters continued removing stone slabs from the sidewalks and throwing them toward the police cordon. A cloud of smoke also formed in the area, initially linked to flares and later reported as smoke from a fire that had been put out in garbage bins near the ministry.
Molotov cocktails, water cannons and police warnings
At around 15:20, the throwing of Molotov cocktails toward police was reported, and the immediate response was the use of water cannons. Earlier, police had also recalled the government’s normative act on protests, which according to the official version prohibits wearing masks and attacking officers.
Although in the initial phase police were restrained and there was no direct physical intervention, the response later intensified with water trucks and repeated calls to disperse. The use of tear gas was also reported at the scene, while protesters continued chanting against the government.
Clashes moved to the Prime Minister’s Office
After several hours of tension near the Ministry of Education, protesters marched toward the Prime Minister’s Office. The gathering there was initially calmer, but the situation escalated again when some protesters threw Molotov cocktails toward police forces.
Police responded with water cannons and called on protesters to move away from the perimeter of the building. On the same day, Prime Minister Edi Rama reacted on social media with an ironic post about the protest taking place below his office.
From the boulevard to the side streets of Tirana
After the incidents in front of the Prime Minister’s Office, police began detaining several protesters. The protest then dispersed from the boulevard and movement shifted into several streets of Tirana.
In the Myslym Shyri area, it was reported that protesters threw Molotov cocktails toward a police water truck, while other individuals entered side streets to avoid detention. This turned the center of the capital into a scene of scattered chases, far from the image of a unified gathering.
The day’s toll was marked by an escalation of violence, the use of hard objects by some protesters, and the expansion of police intervention from the perimeter of institutions into the streets of the capital.
It remains to be seen how publicly the detentions, identifications and police methods will be clarified in a protest where the line between maintaining order and escalation on the ground once again became debatable.