Student Protests in Albania on a Fourth Day: Rama Says the Unrest Has Nothing to Do With Students, Minister Demo Reports 156 Injured
The protests in Tirana escalated from October 13 and spread to Lezhë, Elbasan, Shkodër and Korçë; protesters demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Student protests in Albania on October 16 entered a fourth consecutive day of clashes between demonstrators and police, Bulgaria’s Mediapool and Eurocom report. Thousands of young people took to the streets of Tirana, and the protests have spread to other cities, including Lezhë, Elbasan, Shkodër and Korçë. Protesters demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is serving a fourth term, and say they are not affiliated with any party.
According to Mediapool, the escalation began on Tuesday, after about 140 days of nightly peaceful protests in Tirana. The trigger cited is a large luxury tourism project on the Adriatic coast, linked to Jared Kushner, with demonstrators saying the flamingo, the movement’s symbol, would disappear from Zvërnec island near Vlorë. Grievances also include corruption and neglect of education. These are claims by the protesters and Mediapool, not independently established facts.
Albania’s Interior Minister Ervin Demo said a total of 156 people have been injured, 97 of them police officers. In one day 21 people were treated at the University Hospital in Tirana: eight police officers, ten demonstrators (including three minors) and three passersby. The Police Oversight Agency said it is monitoring the situation and will investigate possible police misconduct. The articles checked give no figure for arrests.
Rama, on October 16, in front of a burning building in central Tirana, said: “This has nothing to do with the students,” and claims there are “foreign agents” behind the unrest and that minors are being brought to the streets in masks. These are his claims, and the articles cite no evidence. He acknowledged that students and citizens have the right to seek better conditions, and said corruption allegations should be handled by the judiciary. For Macedonia and the region the sources checked contain no official reaction; Albania is a neighbor and an EU candidate, so developments are followed here too.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 18, 2026
