Albanian opposition supporters clashed with each other on Saturday as they tried to storm their party's headquarters following an internal struggle for party leadership, according to The Washington Post.
The former leader of the Democratic Party in the opposition, Sali Berisha, has created a group that is trying to remove the head of the party, Lulzim Basha, accusing him of being a "hostage" of Prime Minister Edi Rama of the left Socialist Party.
"Today the democrats and the democrats of Albania will return the bunker of the hostage (Lulzim) Basha to their house of freedom", said Berisha. Protesters entered the first floor of the building, using bars to pry open the main door and breaking windows. Tear gas was used from inside the building to drive them away.
Following a request from the Democratic Party, the police intervened using a water cannon truck and riot police officers to remove the protesters from the building. Some protesters were picked up and detained by the police.
"Today's acts of violence against the Democratic Party mark the final isolation of Sali Berisha and a shameful departure from the political scene", says a statement from the party, reports KP.
Basha dismissed Berisha from the parliamentary group in September, which caused a fight within the party.
In May, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reacted through a statement saying that, during Berisha's tenure as prime minister from 2005-2013, the politician "was involved in acts of corruption ... using his power for his own benefits and to enrich his political allies and family members by interfering with "independent investigations, anti-corruption efforts and accountability measures".
Blinken said that "Berisha's corrupt acts undermined democracy in Albania".
In December, Berisha's group claimed to have held a referendum to remove Basha from his post, but the measure was not recognized by the official Democratic Party.
Berisha, 77, served as prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013 and as president from 1992-1997. He was re-elected as a legislator of the Democratic Party in the parliamentary elections last April.
The US ambassador in Tirana, Yuri Kim, expressed concern about the "rising tensions" in the Democrats' building and called on the protesters to "reject violence and maintain calm".
