Albania: Politician’s supporters storm party headquarters

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Police in Albania have intervened to disperse protesters from the headquarters of the country’s main opposition party. Officers used a water cannon truck and tear gas while pushing back the hundreds of protesters who had stormed the ground floor of the center-right Democratic Party’s headquarters on Saturday. They detained 25 of the trespassers and eight party staff members as the two sides clashed. A group led by former party leader Sali Berisha used iron bars and hammers to break open the main doors of the building. Berisha accuses the party’s current leader of being a “hostage” of Prime Minister Edi Rama and wants him removed. Prosecutors have started an investigation of the protest violence.