Albanian police fire tear gas at protesters as Education Ministry attacked

Protesters hurled bricks and concrete blocks at the Education Ministry on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Student organisers said the protest was over conditions at universities, higher education costs, financial support and employment prospects after graduation.

Police called on the protesters to stop attacking the ministry, but some attendees continued to assault officers with Molotov cocktails, firecrackers, stones and other hard objects, the statement said.

Protesters said they wanted to express frustration with inequality and government economic policies.

“What Albania needs is a revolution, a change, a complete overthrow of the system because it can’t go on like this,” protester Luljeta Kola said. She added that there was a deep social divide between the rich and the poor in the country.

The Albanian capital has seen a series of anti-government protests since May, sparked by a luxury tourism project linked to US President Donald Trump’s family.

The project has fuelled anger over alleged corruption and a lack of transparency, with protesters demanding Rama’s resignation.

“Problems are not solved by pretending they do not exist. Students have questions, demands and plenty of reasons to be heard,” one of the organisers said on Instagram.