A student protest in Tirana turned into several hours of fierce clashes with police, involving stones, flares, tear gas and water cannons. The preliminary toll made public by police says 23 people were arrested, several officers were injured and two female journalists were wounded, while tensions spread from the Ministry of Education to Tirana City Hall.
Tensions began from the outset at the Ministry of Education
The protest held on Tuesday outside the Ministry of Education began with tension from the first minutes. Protesters threw eggs at the building and wrote graffiti with spray paint on the walls of the institution.
The situation escalated when some of them tore down metal railings and took bricks from the sidewalk, throwing them toward the building. These actions also shattered window glass.
Attempts to enter the building and forceful intervention
A group of protesters crossed inside the perimeter of the Ministry of Education, while violent chants came from the crowd and flares were thrown. Afterwards, there was also an attempt to break down the iron gate to enter the building.
Police intervened about an hour after the tensions began, forming a cordon in front of the institution. At some moments, according to the official version, officers used rubber batons and began the first detentions of protesters.
Tear gas, water cannons and the crowd regroups
Water cannon vehicles were also deployed on the ground to disperse the crowd. Even after protesters temporarily withdrew following the police intervention, they regrouped and continued clashing with law enforcement.
Firecrackers and hard objects were thrown at police, while police again used tear gas and water cannons. A group of masked protesters tore railings from the sidewalks and placed them on the road in an attempt to block the movement of the water cannon vehicles.
Fires, damage and movement toward central Tirana
After repeated dispersals, some of the protesters moved toward Skanderbeg Square and the entrance to Durrës Street. Several fires were lit there and a private business was damaged.
During the incidents, according to police, one officer was physically attacked by protesters. It was also reported that one protester was detained while on a bicycle.
The clashes ended at Tirana City Hall
Later, tensions moved to Tirana City Hall, where protesters initially threw stones at the entrance to the building. The door was then broken and some of them entered inside.
Police arrived immediately at the scene and began arrests. Up to that stage of the protest, the reported toll was 23 arrested, several police officers injured and two female journalists wounded.
The event once again highlighted the rapid escalation of protests in the capital and the way crowd management shifts from institutional control to the use of force in the streets.
Beyond the official figures on arrests and injuries, responsibility for the violence, material damage and the proportionality of the police intervention remain to be clarified.