Albanian PM blames ‘foreign hands’ for unrest as student protests intensify

By AFP and Reuters. Published On 16 Oct 202616 Oct 2026.

Key points

• Rama won a fourth term last year on promises to take Albania into the EU, aiming for membership as early as 2028.
• Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has blamed "foreign hands" for the increasingly violent student-led protests that are calling on him to resign.
• According to a police statement, 160 individuals were detained over alleged acts of violence on Thursday evening.
• The protests have spread beyond the capital to Elbasan, Shkodra and Korca, where demonstrators broke windows and set fire to rubbish bins, local media documented.
• His dismissal "would be a betrayal of the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate to complete negotiations on European Union membership", he continued.

As thousands of young Albanians marched through the capital, Tirana, on Friday to protest administration corruption and poor university conditions, riot police clashed with protesters outside the education ministry for the fourth day in a row.

"This is not a student phenomenon, " Rama remarked in a video address on Friday. He remarked there were "foreign hands that do not wish for Albania to be at peace".

Rama insisted that the protest had "absolutely nothing to do with the hardships, problems or legitimate aspirations of anyone who desires a better life".

Police officers applied water cannon and tear gas as demonstrators hurled rocks.

For context, the protests have spread beyond the capital to Elbasan, Shkodra and Korca, where demonstrators broke windows and set fire to rubbish bins, local media documented.

For context, the ongoing escalation follows months of mostly peaceful demonstrations, originally sparked by the sale of part of Albania's coastline to a luxury resort development linked to Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law.

Days of unrest have increasingly targeted banks and administration buildings. Protesters hurled bricks and concrete blocks at the education ministry on Tuesday. They additionally set fire to a number of buildings throughout the city, including the prime minister's office, the finance and justice ministry buildings and branches of a number of banks.

As well as electoral and education reforms, demonstrators are demanding Rama's resignation.

Notably, the prime minister, whose administration denies corruption, stated he would be ready to discuss rising education costs but rejected the calls to resign.

He remarked on Thursday, "My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward."

Corruption scandals have complicated Albania's efforts to join the EU. Analysts say the country is a hub for gangs seeking to launder funds from drugs and weapons trafficking.

For now, albanian PM blames 'foreign hands' for unrest as student protests intensify remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.