Fifth day of violent clashes in Tirana

Demonstrators and riot police fought pitched battles in central Tirana on Saturday for the fifth consecutive day. Masked protesters, many high school and university students, hurled rocks and petrol bombs.

Police deploy water cannon and tear gas

Riot police defending the education ministry responded with water cannon and volleys of tear gas, sending crowds scattering. Rubber bullets were used for the first time, according to reports.

Protests escalate to prime minister's office

During the afternoon, the focus shifted to Prime Minister Edi Rama's office on the city's main boulevard. Crowds swelled to far larger numbers than on previous days, hurling cobblestones and fireworks.

Summer protests become anti-corruption movement

Protests which began in the summer have grown into a wider anti-government movement with calls for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign following corruption allegations linked to his administration.

Student activist explains shift to violence

George, a nineteen-year-old medical student, said the protesters were peaceful for one hundred thirty-five days. Now they are trying to make a revolution because the government does not want peace.

“We were peaceful for 135 days. Now we are trying to do like in France… we are trying to make a revolution.”

Rama faces multiple threats to his rule

Prime Minister Edi Rama has been in power for thirteen years. Parallel to the protests, investigations by the special prosecution service threaten his rule, including the arrest of secret service chief Vlora Hyseni.

Rama blames opposition and foreign actors

In a social media post, Rama blamed the protests on the opposition Democratic Party and what he called the sinister agenda of foreign actors intent on halting progress towards EU membership by twenty thirty.

Analyst: Rama caught between rock and hard place

Political analyst Lutfi Dervishi told the BBC that Rama is the victim of his own success. By concentrating so much power in his own hands, he has made himself the only person people blame.

“Edi Rama is caught between a rock and a hard place.”

Elections not due until twenty twenty-nine

Rama's Socialist Party holds eighty-three out of one hundred forty seats in the Albanian Parliament. The next parliamentary elections are not due until twenty twenty-nine, leaving him secure for now.