Demonstrations Albania

Anti-government protesters attacked riot police Monday, trapping and beating some officers and stripping them of uniforms, guns and shields that were set ablaze in a bonfire in this southern port. Police fought with the crowd of 5,000 to 7,000 rock-throwing demonstrators in the worst rioting during a month of unrest that began over the collapse of investment schemes. Two people were killed and 81 injured, state TV said.

The nation tottered on the brink of chaos Thursday after another day of protests in which former President Sali Berisha called on his supporters to defy a government ban and stage the biggest demonstrations in the country's history. In a speech to about 2,000 supporters, Berisha told backers to march peacefully throughout the country today.

Albania's new opposition Democrats took their drive against communism to the provinces Tuesday as the country's leadership prepared to jettison four decades of Stalinist policies. Thousands of Albanian Christians freely celebrated their first Christmas Mass in 23 years, now that a ban imposed on religion by the late Stalinist leader Enver Hoxha has been lifted.

On the eve of a national day of protest he called against the Albanian government, former President Sali Berisha on Wednesday dared authorities to come and get him. Diplomats tried to talk both sides out of a bloody confrontation. Berisha and about 1,500 supporters ignored a ban and held a peaceful protest in the streets as parliament moved closer to lifting Berisha's immunity from prosecution.

Shooting erupted Friday at a military academy in the Albanian capital where cadets reportedly were guarding a bust of the late dictator Enver Hoxha, and state television reported that at least four people were killed. Albania's Communist president, seeking to stave off more unrest amid a quickening pace of events in the Balkan nation, named a new government Friday headed by a Marxist economist. Protests by vying political groups continued around the country.

Rebels angrily wave assault rifles and badger occupants of cars that navigate helter-skelter through the main boulevard of this southern city, past barricades of broken concrete and metal bars. Few women dare venture outside. Gunfire and explosions cut the air and reverberate over the Adriatic Sea.

Students in Albania ignored official calls for discipline Wednesday and continued a week-old strike for political concessions. Both state-controlled and opposition media reported that students in Tirana, the Albanian capital, boycotted classes for an eighth day. The strikers are demanding a referendum on removing the late communist leader Enver Hoxha's name from the university and the resignation of several ministers in the communist government.

Bowing to weeks of anti-government protests, President Sali Berisha said Saturday that his Cabinet ministers will resign to be replaced by leaders acceptable to the opposition. Berisha's brief announcement on state TV followed unrest that began last month with the collapse of high-risk investment schemes and that escalated Friday into riots between police and demonstrators in the southern city of Vlore that killed at least six people.

In their greatest show of strength yet, international troops patrolled this capital Friday after the government requested help protecting election officials. The Socialist-led government condemned Thursday's shootout between police and pro-monarchy protesters in front of Central Electoral Commission offices. One person was killed and five were wounded in that clash. "We declare that the Central Electoral Commission is the future of Albania," the government said.

About 12,000 Albanians held the first legal opposition rally in decades, cheering demands for the release of political prisoners and for more reform in the Communist nation. Also, the country's trade union declared independence from the Communist Party, promising to fight for higher pay and better conditions for workers, a union official said. Chants of "Freedom!" and "Democracy!" echoed from the one-hour rally in Tirana, the capital.

About 3,000 followers of former Albanian President Sali Berisha defied a government ban and staged a peaceful march through the center of the capital, Tirana, as heavily armed state security forces looked on. Socialist Prime Minister Fatos Nano, emerging from hiding after violence Monday during which his office and residence were looted, accused Berisha of trying to stage a coup and demanded that opposition supporters surrender their arms. Two tanks were handed over.

Government forces regained control of the northern town of Shkoder from armed gangs that looted and burned public buildings in two days of rioting. The violence was the worst in the country since a revolt in early 1997 triggered by the collapse of nationwide pyramid schemes. It was sparked by protests in which demonstrators demanded the release of two men loyal to former President Sali Berisha, whom many Albanians blame for that debacle.

In their greatest show of strength yet, international troops patrolled this capital Friday after the government requested help protecting election officials. The Socialist-led government condemned Thursday's shootout between police and pro-monarchy protesters in front of Central Electoral Commission offices. One person was killed and five were wounded in that clash. "We declare that the Central Electoral Commission is the future of Albania," the government said.

A pro-monarchy demonstration in Tirana, the capital, erupted into a firefight between royalists and police, fueling the volatile political climate that emerged from Sunday's parliamentary elections. State television reported two dead and five injured in the 15-minute shootout outside the Central Election Commission. Albania's would-be king, Leka, has alleged electoral fraud in a referendum, also held Sunday, on returning the monarchy to the nation.

Rebels angrily wave assault rifles and badger occupants of cars that navigate helter-skelter through the main boulevard of this southern city, past barricades of broken concrete and metal bars. Few women dare venture outside. Gunfire and explosions cut the air and reverberate over the Adriatic Sea.

President Sali Berisha, parts of his country in open revolt, deepened his own diplomatic isolation Wednesday by refusing the helping hand of Western mediators. Foreign Minister Tritan Shehu said the "timing" was wrong for an international peace mission, even as a military assault appeared imminent against Albanians in revolt in three southern cities.

Opponents of Albania's regime led by strongman Ramiz Alia blew up a bridge near the southern city of Ballsh in the first reported anti-government violence in 24 years, emigre sources in Athens said. The emigres said the bridge's destruction represents a protest over shortages of basic food, including bread and corn, and Alia's hard-line rule. Western diplomats who recently visited the capital, Tirana, said southern Albania is suffering severe food shortages.

Bowing to weeks of anti-government protests, President Sali Berisha said Saturday that his Cabinet ministers will resign to be replaced by leaders acceptable to the opposition. Berisha's brief announcement on state TV followed unrest that began last month with the collapse of high-risk investment schemes and that escalated Friday into riots between police and demonstrators in the southern city of Vlore that killed at least six people.

At least six people died and 22 were injured after protesters and police exchanged gunfire in the southern town of Vlore. Shooting broke out after police clashed with protesters who feared officers were about to storm a university building occupied by anti-government hunger strikers. The town hospital said three civilians, including a boy, 14, were shot dead. The secret police said two officers were shot dead. Another was beaten to death.