Albania protests enter third day, 89 hurt, Rama won’t quit

Police in Albania’s capital fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters on Thursday, Oct. 15, the third straight day of clashes in Tirana, as Prime Minister Edi Rama refused to resign.

Albania’s Health Ministry said hospitals in Tirana treated 89 people after Wednesday’s unrest, including 61 police officers, according to News.az, which cited Reuters and Al Jazeera. News.az also reported that police arrested 65 people on suspicion of attacking officers and damaging public and private property.

The Associated Press, as reported by Fox News, said protesters threw rocks at a police cordon outside the Education Ministry on Thursday, and police responded with tear gas and water cannon. Fox News reported that on Wednesday protesters attacked government buildings, banks and businesses. A photo caption in its report said protesters had set fire to a barricade near the ministry on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

The protests began with students angry about the cost of higher education, a lack of financial support, conditions at universities and poor job prospects, Reuters reported, as cited by Fox News. They have since merged with a broader anti-government movement. The AP said that movement opposes a major development project linked to Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. News.az described the project as a luxury resort planned on Albania’s southern coast and said protesters felt earlier complaints about it went unanswered.

Some protesters, who call themselves the “flamingo movement” after the pink-bird signs they carry, are demanding Rama’s resignation over alleged widespread corruption, Fox News reported. News.az said an ultimatum circulated among protesters demanded that Rama step down by 1 p.m. local time on Thursday. The demonstrations continued past that deadline. Rama’s government denies the corruption allegations.

Rama, who won a fourth term last year on a promise to take Albania into the European Union, rejected the demands. “We had elections last year, not a revolution,” he told Reuters, according to Fox News. He said governments change through elections.

“I will not allow violence to derail Albania’s European future,” Rama said, adding that his mandate includes completing EU membership talks. Reuters reported that Albania hopes to join the bloc as early as 2028.

Rama said he is ready to discuss education costs. “Attacking institutions, destroying public property and threatening public safety” has nothing to do with students’ legitimate demands, he said. In a written statement to Reuters, he said: “My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward,” according to News.az. In a Facebook video showing damage at a Tirana university campus, he said everyone who had a hand in the chaos “will certainly pay.”

An EU delegation in Albania said late Wednesday that it was concerned about “the violent escalation at the protest in Tirana” and called for a proportionate response from the authorities, Fox News reported.

Agim Nesho, a former Albanian ambassador to the United States, told Fox News that public patience with Rama’s government has run out. He cited corruption, misuse of public funds, political favouritism, poverty, unemployment and the emigration of young people.

The Fox News and News.az reports differ on some details, and neither gives a protester count. Casualty and arrest figures come from Albanian officials as relayed by those outlets and have not been confirmed independently by Canada News Media. The situation is developing.

For Canadians, the Government of Canada’s travel advisory for Albania remains at “take normal security precautions,” its lowest level. In an update on Oct. 15, travel.gc.ca added that “since mid-October 2026, demonstrations have taken place in central Tirana” and that “violent confrontations have occurred and there have been arrests and property damage.” It advises Canadians to avoid areas with demonstrations or large gatherings, follow the instructions of local authorities and monitor local media. Canadians can read the full Albania advisory on the federal travel site.

The unrest comes as the bloc weighs its next steps on enlargement. Leaders at the Oct. 15 and 16 summit in Brussels backed Ukraine, and the EU recently opened two more accession clusters for Ukraine and Moldova. Albania’s own talks depend in part on progress against corruption, a theme the protesters have put at the centre of their demands.

Via Fox News (citing the Associated Press and Reuters) and News.az (citing Reuters and Al Jazeera).

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