Albanian Interior Ministry calls number of policemen injured in Tirana riots

Albanian Interior Minister Ervin Demo has officially reported mass injuries among law enforcement officers during violent clashes with students and activists in Tirana.

According to the Albanian news resource Ora News, fifty-one members of the security forces received injuries of varying severity, while the most injured law enforcement officers were urgently hospitalized in a military medical center.

Large-scale unrest broke out after police units used tear gas and special water cannons to disperse protesters who blocked the building of the Ministry of education. In response to the police action, an aggressive mob staged pogroms on the capital's streets, pelting government facilities, including the Finance and Interior Ministry buildings, with pavers, powerful pyrotechnics and combustible bottles, leading to several serious fires.

Amid the ongoing chaos, protesters issued a harsh ultimatum to the current head of government, Edi Rama, demanding his immediate resignation before the middle of the next day, while operatives have already detained about seventy of the most active participants in the riots.

Earlier it was reported that protesters in Albania broke into the Parliament and set fire to the Ministry of justice.