Student Protests

Violence Escalates in Albania: Ministry Building on Fire

Nachrichten
14.10.2026 16:31
Porträt von krone.at
Von krone.at

In Tirana, the capital of Albania, student protests against abuses in the higher education system escalated violently on Wednesday. The Ministry of Education is on fire. 

Thousands of demonstrators had gathered in front of the ministry on the second day of protests against corruption and abuses in the education system.

Some threw bricks at the building, tore down barricades, and overturned trash cans.

Clashes between demonstrators and police also broke out in downtown Tirana on Wednesday. © euro
Clashes between demonstrators and police also broke out in downtown Tirana on Wednesday. © euro(Bild: AFP/ADNAN BECI)

Raiffeisen Bank Branch Also on Fire
According to an eyewitness cited by the Reuters news agency, a nearby Raiffeisen Bank branch also caught fire. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Deputy Prime Minister Albana Kociu condemned the riots. Protesting is a legitimate right, she stated on Facebook (see post below). However, this should not be a pretext for violence, the destruction of the city, or fighting in the streets. She called on students to distance themselves from vandalism.

The protests, which began in May, are directed against conditions at universities, high tuition costs, a lack of financial support, and poor job prospects after graduation.

Protesters Demand Prime Minister’s Resignation
The latest unrest represents the most serious escalation to date and poses a growing challenge for Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government. The protesters are also calling for Rama’s resignation. His Socialist Party and the right-wing Democrats—now in the opposition—have alternated in power since the democratic transition in the formerly communist country more than 30 years ago.

Albania Wants to Join the EU
Albania is currently in relatively advanced negotiations regarding EU accession, which it aims to achieve by 2030. However, many citizens view the political elites as greedy, corrupt, and incompetent.

This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.

Loading...
00:00 / 00:00
Abspielen
Schließen
Aufklappen
kein Artikelbild
Loading...
Vorige 10 Sekunden
Zum Vorigen Wechseln
Abspielen
Zum Nächsten Wechseln
Nächste 10 Sekunden
00:00
00:00
1.0x Geschwindigkeit
Loading
Kommentare Banner - Die Stimme Österreichs

Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.

Hinweis in eigener Sache: Das krone.at-Forum präsentiert sich ab sofort in neuem Design! Wir freuen uns über konstruktives Feedback. Damit die Diskussionen in den Kommentarbereichen beim jeweiligen Thema bleiben, können Sie uns Rückmeldungen hier hinterlassen.

Kostenlose Spiele
Vorteilswelt

Magazine der Kronen Zeitung