"Clashes erupted in Tirana on Saturday as an anti-government rally descended into confrontations between protesters and riot police, with Molotov cocktails, fireworks and water cannons deployed during hours of unrest in the capital. Footage shows hundreds of demonstrators marching through central Tirana, their mobilisation triggered by a widening corruption investigation involving senior officials. The rally, led by the opposition Democratic Party of Albania, first gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Office (Kryeministria) before moving toward the residence of former communist leader Enver Hoxha, now a museum. There, demonstrators attempted to breach police cordons, hurling fireworks and Molotov cocktails, setting the museum on fire. Riot police responded with water cannons in an effort to disperse the crowd as tensions flared. The Democratic Party is calling for the lifting of immunity of now former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku following a corruption scandal, as well as Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation and the formation of a technical government to oversee what it says should be free and fair elections. Rama reacted on social media platform X, posting images of recent attacks in Iran alongside a photograph from the Tirana protest showing a burning trash container. In a message laced with irony, he wrote: 'Albania with the free world against the mullahs of Tehran, the Albanian opposition with the trash against the citizens of Tirana.' Political tensions in Albania have escalated since December, when a special prosecution unit indicted Deputy Prime Minister Balluku for allegedly interfering in public tenders for major infrastructure projects and favouring certain companies. While Balluku denies the charges, she was dismissed by the PM on Thursday, while the Special Prosecution Office asked parliament to lift her immunity to enable her arrest. Edi Rama's Socialist Party, which secured a fourth consecutive term last year, holds a parliamentary majority. It remains unclear if or when lawmakers will vote to lift Balluku's immunity."