Violence erupted near parliament as demonstrators demanded accountability for a corruption investigation linked to the deputy prime minister.
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Published February 21, 2026
In Albania’s capital Tirana, protesters clashed with security forces during a demonstration demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation, with police firing tear gas and water cannon.
On Friday, demonstrators threw petrol bombs and fireworks at the prime minister’s office before marching to parliament, where they were confronted by anti-riot police.
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Violent clashes lasted about two hours on the streets surrounding parliament, according to an AFP reporter who was at the scene of the violence.
Police said about 30 people were arrested, and the opposition Democratic Party said about 40 supporters were detained.
Several street protests have occurred in the capital since Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Baruch was indicted by the Special Prosecution Unit in December. Baruch, a close ally of Rama, was suspended over a corruption scandal and is currently under investigation.
Several former ministers of Rama’s government are also targets of corruption investigations.
Thousands of people gathered in protest on Friday, waving Albanian and opposition flags and chanting “Rama, go away” and “Rama is in prison.”
“We will save Albania from Edi Rama, who has plunged Albania into poverty and corruption,” said Sali Berisha, leader of the opposition Democratic Party.
“I want them to know that even if they go to the other side of the sun, we will find them and punish them with the full force of the law,” Berisha said.
Interior Minister Albana Koc condemned the violence, accusing protesters of “vandalism” and calling attacks on police a “crime.”
In Albania, Rama’s Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term last year, securing a parliamentary majority.
Politics in Albania, which aims to join the European Union by 2030, has been a long and bitter conflict between parties on the left and right, with both parties frequently accusing the other of links to corruption and organized crime.
