Violent clashes rock Tirana as crowds demand deputy PM’s resignation

Thousands of opposition supporters clashed with riot police in central Tirana on the evening of Feb. 10, as demonstrations over an anti‑corruption case targeting Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku boiled over into street violence. Protesters hurled petrol bombs, Molotov cocktails, flares and fireworks toward government buildings and police lines, while officers used water cannon and fired tear gas to push back crowds, witnesses and officials said.

The clashes took place in front of the prime minister’s office and spilled into the main square as protesters marched toward parliament and attempted to break police cordons. Protesters chanted, “Rama go home, this corrupted government should resign,” and scenes of hooded youth flinging projectiles were captured by on‑site photographers and video crews.

The immediate trigger for the unrest was a move by a special prosecution unit that has accused Balluku, who also serves as infrastructure and energy minister, of interfering in public tenders for major infrastructure projects and of favouring certain companies. A special corruption court suspended Balluku in November; the Constitutional Court temporarily reinstated her in December pending a final ruling. The Special Prosecution Office, tasked with combating corruption and organised crime, has requested that parliament lift Balluku’s immunity this week to enable her arrest. A parliamentary committee is due to review the prosecutors’ request, but it is not clear when a full parliamentary vote will take place, and the ruling party holds a majority.

Opposition leader and former prime minister Sali Berisha led the protest and urged supporters to escalate pressure on the government, saying protesters should “unite to overthrow this government and to put in place a technical government to prepare early, free and fair elections.” Prime Minister Edi Rama has resisted calls to remove Balluku and condemned her suspension as a “brutal act of interference in the independence of the executive,” framing the legal moves as an encroachment on the functioning of government.

Casualty and arrest figures varied in the immediate aftermath. Police said 16 protesters were treated in hospital for burns and other injuries and reported 13 arrests. Authorities also reported that at least 10 officers sustained minor injuries. The opposition put the number of detained higher; Mr. Berisha said 25 protesters had been arrested. Independent verification of the differing tallies was still pending late on Feb. 10.

The clashes mark the latest escalation in months of political tension that critics say threatens Prime Minister Rama’s hold on power since 2013. For a country negotiating an often fraught path toward European Union membership, the confrontation underlines how allegations of corruption and the politicization of judicial processes can quickly spill into the streets. Analysts warn that prolonged unrest could deepen polarization, complicate Albania’s reform agenda and prompt scrutiny from Brussels at a sensitive moment in accession talks.

Authorities face immediate choices: whether to pursue the prosecutors’ request through parliament and how to manage security without further inflaming political divisions. For now, Tirana remains tense, caught between legal proceedings unfolding in state institutions and a street movement determined to convert scandal into political change.