Hundreds of university and high school students clashed with Albanian police on Monday outside the Ministry of Education in Tirana during a protest over university conditions, tuition costs, and a lack of financial support.

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The demonstration began at 2:00 p.m. local time, when the young people blocked the street in front of the Ministry and threw paint, eggs, and firecrackers at the façade. Subsequently, some protesters tore up barriers and paving stones to hurl at the building, shattering its windows, according to local media reports.

Police detained 23 protesters, and at least six officers—as well as one journalist—were injured, the Ministry of the Interior reported, as cited by the Albanian public broadcaster RTSH. None of the injuries are life-threatening.

According to the official statement, police units intervened proportionately to neutralize those responsible for the incidents and restore order. Police responded with tear gas and a high-pressure water cannon before advancing on the crowd.

🚨🇦🇱 LIVE FROM TIRANA: Police assault a student who refuses to back down, confronting six officers before being arrested

✊ STAND WITH THE STUDENTS! STOP POLICE BRUTALITY #Tirana #StudentProtest #ACAB pic.twitter.com/pHguk3N3ym

— Anonymous TV 🇺🇦 (@YourAnonTV) October 13, 2026

The students, primarily from the University of Tirana and the Polytechnic University, are demanding improvements to university facilities and student dormitories, as well as greater financial support for the student body. They are also calling for the resignation of the Minister of Education, Mirela Kumbaro.

During the protest, demonstrators chanted: Without youth, there is no Albania. According to the newspaper Gazeta Shqip, the mobilization was prompted by the poor condition of the country’s universities, the cost of education, and the lack of public financial aid.

The protest is part of the so-called “Flamingo Revolution,” an opposition movement against the government and the political system that began in May in response to a luxury tourism project in the protected Vjosa-Narta lagoon—a project linked to Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Since then, the movement has expanded its demands, calling for the formation of a technocratic government and the ousting of Edi Rama and veteran conservative leader Sali Berisha from power.

#Albania | The police violently cracked down on citizens protesting outside Parliament in Tirana, where they were demonstrating against Prime Minister Edi Rama and a tourism project linked to the family of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The clashes occurred during the final… pic.twitter.com/caorFLU1jP

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) July 23, 2026

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