Antigovernment Protests in Albania Turn Violent, At Least 13 Arrested

Police in Albania have fired water cannon and tear gas against protesters outside Prime Minister Edi Rama’s office in the capital, Tirana, as the demonstrators called for his resignation following a major corruption scandal. 
  
Protesters threw Molotov cocktails and flares at police on Tuesday night, who sprayed water cannon and tear gas on the crowds. Clashes also occurred near Albania’s parliament building, according to media reports. 
 
Political discontent has been brewing since November, when prosecutors alleged that Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, who is also Albania’s minister for energy and infrastructure, had interfered in the procurement of government construction contracts. 
  
Protesters say they want both Rama and Balluku out. They have also called for parliament to suspend Balluku’s immunity so she can face prosecution. 
  
More than 1,300 police were deployed at Tuesday’s demonstration, just two weeks after another violent rally in Tirana. 
 
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