Albanian police fire tear gas as anti-government student protests turn violent

Smoke rises near police officers in riot gear wearing gas masks, during an anti-government protest by students in Tirana, Albania. | Photo Credit: Reuters Albanian riot police used tear gas, water cannons and ​rubber bullets to disperse protesters who threw ‌rocks at officers and started a ​fire at the door of ⁠the agriculture ministry in the capital, Tirana, on Saturday (October 24, 2026).Student-led demonstrations, fuelled by anger over perceived government ‌corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards, have ‌engulfed central Tirana and spread ‌to ⁠other cities this month.Demonstrators demanding the ⁠resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama have set fire to government buildings as well as ​banks, smashed shop windows ‌and pulled up paving stones to throw at police.The unrest, which followed months of largely peaceful summer protests against ‌a luxury coastal development backed ​by U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, poses the biggest challenge ⁠yet to Rama, who has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term ‌in office last year.The protesters gathered on Saturday (October 24, 2026) around 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) in front of the education ministry, and threw stones and rocks at police.The police pushed them away and ‌they dispersed to several locations in the city.“Albanians ​have woken up,” said 28-year-old protester Daniel Tahiri, who described the ⁠government as a “dictatorship with the clothes of ⁠democracy.” Another protester, 29-year-old Orgeta Likaj, said people wanted Rama to know ‌that Albanians no longer want him because of corruption and scandals. Published - October 25, 2026 01:10 am IST