Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Thursday he would not resign amid violent protests staged by students who have been demonstrating for consecutive days. “I will not let violence stop Albania’s EU accession,” Rama said in written responses to Reuters.

Protests remained violent in the Albanian capital Tirana, where at least one official building was set alight and others heavily damaged late Wednesday as demonstrations turned violent for a second night in a row.

In Tirana, thousands of protesters clashed with riot police as they marched for better conditions at the University and the resignation of Rama.

The city centre was attacked by demonstrators who smashed windows and set fire to several buildings at government offices and shops over several hours, and the police responded with water cannons and tear gas.

But the crowd seemed stuck, and riot police kept pushing them back even with tear gas.

Later in the evening, people continued to gather in the city and started attacking the government buildings.

In one such incident, the protesters smashed the windows and set fire to the ground floor of the Justice ministry building.

The police drove back the protesters and firefighters put out the blaze.

During the day, the protesters threw paving stones, petrol bombs, set fire to waste bins and blocked streets with barricades made of street fencing.

Protesters also threw objects at the finance ministry, smashing windows and breaking down doors, some of whom briefly entered the building.

Police pushed back the protesters, who then marched toward the prime minister’s office, throwing stones at the building, prompting police to deploy water cannons.

The fire department extinguished a small fire on a tree near the entrance of the building.

‘Masked mob’  

Students’ concerns were recognised by Interior Minister Ervin Demo, but he blamed the violence on the “malicious hands of outsiders.  To anyone who is setting fire to and destroying public and private property, I say, come back before it’s too late.  Individual responsibility to the law will be postponed in the middle of a rioting mob, but it will never be forgotten. 

Earlier, two individuals scaled the wall of the education ministry and hurled flares inside the building in front of AFP. Soon after, thick black smoke billowed out of a window before “firefighters (were able to extinguish the flames).” 

According to local media, the protesters had also tried to break into a police station, smashing police cars and damaging the entrance before being chased out. Several banks were attacked, and many shopfronts were smashed in the city centre. 

Late Wednesday, investigators confirmed that 14 police officers were injured and 35 civilians were arrested. Six officers were injured, and 16 people were arrested Tuesday. 

Police still have people in custody who have “committed acts of violence and donned masks while participating in the protest,” the statement said. 

The protesters had started a demonstration early on Tuesday to demand that Rama resign and increase support for students in the country, due to the poor condition of the universities and high tuition fees.

Anti-government protests have been regularly attracting thousands of people for over four and a half months. 

Police reported that they were “pelted with stones, blunt objects, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails from groups of masked demonstrators” on Tuesday while they were “facing constant violence”. 

The European Union, to which the Balkan country wants to join, expressed concern about “the violent escalation at the protest in Tirana”. It also called for a prompt investigation of allegations of excessive force by police and called on “all sides to de-escalate the tension”.