Albanian prime minister warns of more violence

Albania's prime minister has thanked the army for heading off what he called an attempted coup last week, but warned that more violence is likely in the next few days.

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha speaks during a press conference in Tirana Photo: EPA

By Nick Squires, Rome 5:03PM GMT 25 Jan 2011

Three people were killed and more than 150 injured in the capital, Tirana, last Friday during violent clashes between tens of thousands of opposition supporters and security forces.

"January 21 was the first coup attempt, and the attempts to seize the democratic institutions by violent means will continue," said Sali Berisha, in an apparent reference to a fresh opposition protest due to be held this Friday.

Mr Berisha has accused the Socialist opposition of trying to foment a "Tunisia-style" revolt against his Democratic Party government and called for a counter demonstration to be held on Saturday.

Edi Rama, the leader of the opposition and the mayor of Tirana, has repeatedly denied trying to stage a coup, insisting demonstrators just wanted to persuade the government to resign.

Amid continuing tension, he appealed on Tuesday for the international community to mediate in the crisis, pointing out that Albania is a member of Nato and hopes to join the European Union.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/albania/8281530/Albanian-prime-minister-warns-of-more-violence.html