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Tirana students clash with police
The demonstrators smashed windows, set up barricades, and clashed with security forces.
They accuse Rama's government of corruption and of neglecting education, and they are angry over rising living costs. They also say officials have ignored concerns about a controversial luxury resort development tied to Jared Kushner.
Rama rejects the calls to step down, but he is ready to discuss the rising cost of education.
How does tear gas make crowds scatter?
Most riot-control tear gas uses a compound called CS, which irritates the eyes, nose, throat, and skin on contact. It causes streaming tears, burning, and coughing, which makes people want to leave the area at once. The effects usually fade within minutes to an hour once a person gets into clean air. It is classed as a riot-control agent and is banned as a weapon of war under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
How do water cannon and sound grenades work?
A water cannon is a truck-mounted pump that fires a high-pressure jet strong enough to knock people off their feet. It lets police push a crowd back from a distance without direct contact. A sound grenade, also called a flash-bang, releases a very loud bang and a bright flash that disorient people nearby. Unlike a fragmentation grenade, it is built to avoid shrapnel.
Why do students so often lead Albanian protests?
Albania's communist rule ended after student protests in Tirana in December 1990. Those demonstrations pushed the government to allow opposition parties for the first time since World War II. Students also played a part in the toppling of the statue of dictator Enver Hoxha in Tirana in 1991. Albanian students have returned to the streets repeatedly since then, including over university reforms.
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