Albanian police fire rubber bullets as protests against Rama escalate

Five days of clashes rock Tirana as students join a wider movement demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation.

Police officers in riot gear during clashes at a student-led antigovernment protest in Tirana, Albania, on October 17, 2026 [Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters]

Police in Albania have fired rubber bullets at antigovernment protesters in the capital, Tirana, as violent clashes intensify over demands for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign.

The clashes continued on Saturday for a fifth consecutive day after high school and university students joined a broader movement against Rama, whose governing centre-left Socialist Party has held power since 2013.

list 1 of 2 ‘Boiling point’: Why students are protesting against Albania’s Edi Rama

list 2 of 2 Albania’s PM blames ‘foreign hands’ for protests

The unrest has brought growing anger over education, unemployment and alleged corruption into a wider confrontation with the government.

Protesters threw stones, petrol bombs and fireworks at police near Rama’s office and elsewhere in central Tirana.

Some set cars and rubbish bins alight, creating burning barricades across streets.

Police responded with tear gas, water cannon and baton charges as demonstrators pushed against security lines.

The AFP news agency reported that officers used rubber bullets for the first time since the demonstrations began.

National police chief Skender Hita confirmed their use at a news conference on Saturday, saying they had been deployed “in a limited manner”.

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said nine protesters and four police officers received medical treatment on Saturday.

Hita said 167 people had been arrested over five days of unrest, while 132 officers had been injured.

Seven police officers were also suspended pending investigations into allegations that they had exceeded their authority.

Rama, who is serving his fourth term and has refused to resign, visited businesses damaged during the unrest on Saturday. He promised to listen to students and protect their right to demonstrate, while warning against further destruction.

He also accused his conservative political opponents of encouraging the violence.

The students have complained about expensive university fees, poor educational facilities and limited employment opportunities, alongside allegations of government corruption.

At the start of Saturday’s demonstration, protesters set fire to a suitcase and threw it into the Ministry of Education’s courtyard. AFP reported that the gesture symbolised their determination not to leave Albania in search of better opportunities.

“We are demanding our rights, our future and a better country,” journalism student Sinan Billa told AFP.

The student demonstrations have added to months of antigovernment rallies organised by the Flamingo movement, which began as a campaign against a luxury tourism development on Albania’s southern coast.

The project is linked to an investment company founded by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.

The movement has since widened its demands to include Rama’s resignation amid allegations of corruption against his government.

The unrest has also spread beyond Tirana. Local media reported that protesters in the coastal city of Durres damaged a post office and blocked roads with burning barricades, extending the confrontations beyond the capital.

学生们加入要求总理埃迪·拉马辞职的更大规模运动，导致地拉那爆发了为期五天的冲突。

2026 年 10 月 17 日，阿尔巴尼亚地拉那，学生领导的反政府抗议活动发生冲突，身穿防暴装备的警察 [Louisa Gouliamaki/路透社]

在阿尔巴尼亚首都地拉那，警方向反政府示威者发射橡皮子弹，暴力冲突愈演愈烈，示威者要求总理埃迪·拉马辞职。

周六，冲突连续第五天继续，此前高中生和大学生加入了反对拉马的更广泛运动，拉马领导的中左翼社会党自 2013 年以来一直执政。

列表 1/2 “沸点”：为什么学生抗议阿尔巴尼亚总统埃迪·拉马

阿尔巴尼亚总理将抗议活动归咎于“外国势力” （共2条，此为第2条）

这场动乱将民众对教育、失业和涉嫌腐败的日益增长的愤怒情绪，演变成与政府更广泛的对抗。

在拉马办公室附近以及地拉那市中心其他地方，抗议者向警察投掷石块、汽油弹和烟花。

一些人点燃汽车和垃圾桶，在街道上设置燃烧的路障。

示威者冲击警戒线时，警方动用了催泪瓦斯、高压水炮和警棍进行镇压。

法新社报道称，这是自示威活动开始以来，警方首次使用橡皮子弹。

国家警察总长斯肯德·希塔周六在新闻发布会上证实了这些武器的使用，并表示它们已“以有限的方式”部署。

卫生和社会福利部表示，周六有九名抗议者和四名警察接受了治疗。

希塔表示，在五天的骚乱中，共有 167 人被捕，132 名警员受伤。

另有七名警官因涉嫌滥用职权而被停职，等待调查。

拉马目前正担任第四个任期，他拒绝辞职。周六，他视察了在骚乱中受损的商铺。他承诺倾听学生的诉求，保护他们的示威权利，同时警告不要再进行进一步的破坏。

他还指责他的保守派政治对手煽动暴力。

学生们抱怨大学学费昂贵、教育设施差、就业机会有限，此外还指控政府存在腐败问题。

周六示威活动开始时，抗议者点燃了一个行李箱，并将其扔进教育部院内。法新社报道称，此举象征着他们决心不离开阿尔巴尼亚去寻求更好的机会。

“我们要求我们的权利、我们的未来和一个更美好的国家，”新闻系学生西南·比拉告诉法新社。

学生示威活动加剧了由“火烈鸟运动”组织的持续数月的反政府集会。该运动最初是反对在阿尔巴尼亚南部海岸开发豪华旅游项目的运动。

该项目与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的女婿贾里德·库什纳创立的一家投资公司有关。

此后，该运动扩大了诉求，要求拉玛辞职，因为他的政府被指控存在腐败行为。

动乱也蔓延到了地拉那以外的地方。当地媒体报道称，沿海城市都拉斯的抗议者破坏了一家邮局，并用燃烧的路障封锁了道路，将冲突扩大到了首都以外的地方。