Police in the Albanian capital gave a late-Wednesday tally of the two nights of unrest: 14 officers injured and 35 people detained on Wednesday alone, after six officers were hurt and 16 arrested the day before. The figures came as anti-government demonstrations in Tirana spiralled into violence for a second consecutive night, leaving several official buildings badly damaged and at least one on fire.

Second night of damage in the city centre

Officers held crowds back with water cannons and tear gas for several hours as demonstrators attacked government offices and shops in the city centre, smashed windows and set fire to multiple buildings. At the justice ministry, protesters broke windows before setting a floor of the building alight; firefighters brought the blaze under control.

The damage reported across the city centre included:

• •Two people climbed the education ministry wall and threw flares inside, sending thick black smoke from the building before firefighters extinguished the fire, in scenes seen by AFP
• •An assault on the finance ministry in which fencing was used to smash windows and break down doors, with some protesters briefly getting inside
• •Stones thrown at the prime minister's office after police pushed crowds back, with a tree near the entrance briefly catching fire
• •Several banks attacked and many shopfronts smashed
• •An attempt to storm a police station, with police cars smashed and the entrance damaged, according to local media

Demonstrators hurled paving stones and petrol bombs, set fire to bins and used street fencing to erect barricades.

Why crowds are demanding Rama's resignation

Thousands rallied for better university conditions and demanded Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation. The demonstrations began early on Tuesday calling for Rama to go and for more support for students, citing poor university conditions and high tuition fees.

The Tirana protests are not isolated. For more than four months, anti-government demonstrations have routinely drawn crowds in their thousands. The movement was originally sparked by a luxury tourism project linked to US President Donald Trump's family in the country's south.

Government and EU respond

Interior minister Ervin Demo acknowledged the concerns of students but blamed what he called the "malicious hands of outsiders" for the violence. He issued a warning to those damaging property, saying accountability could come slowly but would come.

The European Union voiced concern over the violent escalation in Tirana and called for a prompt investigation of allegations of excessive force by police, while urging "all sides to de-escalate the tension".

Police said officers had "faced constant violence" on Tuesday and were "pelted with stones, blunt objects, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails" by masked groups. They said they are continuing to identify and detain individuals who committed acts of violence or wore masks during the protests.