TIRANA: Albanian pol­ice fired water cannon and tear gas Sunday as violent anti-government protests entered a sixth day and Prime Minister Edi Rama rejected demonstrators’ demands that he resign.

Violent demonstrations have rocked Tirana since Tuesday with protesters calling for action over poor university conditions, high tuition fees and corruption.

Hundreds of protesters gathered again at noon in front of the education ministry chanting “Rama, resign” amid a tense standoff with police, who used water cannon and tear gas to hold back the crowds.

Protesters set ablaze litter bins in the streets, smashed windows on their route, including at the headquarters of the governing Socialist Party, and threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at police.

In a video broadcast, Rama ruled out resigning, stating that the protests are the “work of an outside hand”. He said street protests, which continued for a sixth day, were a threat not to his government but to Albania’s hopes of joining the European Union.

Tirana saw its harshest violence on Saturday when protesters threw rocks, Molotov cocktails, metal objects and pyrotechnic devices at police, and torched cars and litter bins to use as barricades against advancing police.

The US embassy in Tir­ana, Albania’s close ally, urged “restraint and calm on all sides”.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2026