Boiling over

ALBANIAN politics have been on edge since the elections of June 2009, when the opposition accused the ruling Democratic Party of fraud. In the past year and a half the the country has gone through bouts of instability, including a period when opposition supporters camped out and held a hunger strike outside the office of Sali Berisha, the prime minister.

Today, after months of calm, things went dreadfully wrong. A demonstration turned violent; three protestors have been killed and 40 demonstrators and police have been hurt.

The demonstration followed the resignation of Ilir Meta, Albania's deputy prime minister. Mr Meta quit after a film was screen that appeared to show him discussing corrupt deals with Dritan Prifti, a former economy minister.

Here some reportage from Tirana, courtesy of our colleagues at Balkan Insight:

The demonstrators set fire to cars, and police fired shots in the air and used a water cannon in an attempt to disperse the crowd as it tried to storm the building that houses the prime minister's office.

Several wounded police officers were seen in front of the building. At least a dozen participants in the rally have been arrested. Some 20,000 protesters have gathered on Tirana's main boulevard as the rally continues.

The opposition had called for the demonstration in an attempt to topple the government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and prompt early elections, following a series of high-profile corruption scandals.