World

Albanian anti-government protesters hurl petrol bombs and scuffle with police

2024.07.11 19:12

TIRANA (Reuters) – Opposition protesters pelted Albania’s government building and a mayor’s office with petrol bombs late on Thursday, accusing Prime Minister Edi Rama of corruption and demanding his resignation.

Thousands of opposition supporters gathered in front of Rama’s office and later at the office of Tirana’s mayor who is also from Rama’s Socialist Party.

Police did not intervene but did extinguish fires from the petrol bombs which endangered a few officers. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Protesters also asked for release of opposition leader Sali Berisha who has been held under house arrest and investigated for alleged corruption while serving as prime minister between 2005-2013.

Berisha has denied wrongdoing, accusing Rama of a political vendetta meant to silence opponents. Rama made no comment but has denied this charge repeatedly.

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to file formal charges against Berisha.

“Albania is the only country in Europe with its opposition leader under political arrest without any facts, evidence or documents,” Berisha said via a video link from his house arrest.

“Edi Rama wants an Albania without Albanians, without opposition and without justice.”

© Reuters. Police officers react to the fire after a Molotov cocktail was thrown, while supporters of the opposition attend an anti-government protest, in front of Tirana’s Mayors office, in Tirana, Albania, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Berisha has called for supporters to engage in civil disobedience to force the government to hold snap elections.

Rama has held power since 2013 and has won all parliamentary and local elections since then.



Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 96,247.79 0.16%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,633.21 0.04%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.01%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 2.41 0.45%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 200.01 1.33%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 618.99 1.66%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.00%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.25122 0.30%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,632.48 0.19%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.685013 1.86%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.236411 2.28%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 96,047.73 0.27%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 18.49 1.17%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 3,135.52 0.42%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 24.86 1.37%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.316634 4.34%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 3.83 2.48%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 3.04 0.28%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000016 0.92%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 9.92 0.82%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.231146 0.66%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.03%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 106.32 1.76%
hyperliquid
Hyperliquid (HYPE) $ 22.90 2.34%
bitget-token
Bitget Token (BGB) $ 6.34 1.05%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,633.47 0.19%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.75 1.97%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 325.52 0.92%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.07%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 5.79 0.81%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 9.10 0.90%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,786.61 0.02%
ondo-finance
Ondo (ONDO) $ 1.33 0.90%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 221.96 1.56%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000009 2.01%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 27.23 0.06%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 3.21 0.50%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 241.68 1.10%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.01%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 1.02 2.31%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 5.86 0.80%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 6.91 0.93%
official-trump
Official Trump (TRUMP) $ 16.35 5.13%
susds
sUSDS (SUSDS) $ 1.04 0.09%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 20.15 0.18%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 359.48 5.32%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 47.34 0.80%
gatechain-token
Gate (GT) $ 21.08 0.88%
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.032271 1.75%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.305715 0.39%