Balla posts footage of masked people at PD headquarters: that is where the Molotov depot is

Taulant Balla, head of the Socialist Party's parliamentary group, on Saturday afternoon posted footage of masked people entering and leaving the Democratic Party's central headquarters as clashes between protesters and police continued in central Tirana. He captioned the video “Molotov depot: PD HEADQUARTERS.”

In another post, Balla addressed PD leader Sali Berisha directly, accusing him of “again” bringing arsonists to the Socialist Party headquarters. “You have filled SHQUP with hundreds of liters of gasoline where the Molotovs are made. SHAME!” he wrote. His claim was not backed by evidence other than the footage, and PD had not responded to it.

The Telegram messages

Later, Balla published messages from a Telegram group in which, he said, protesters were told to break windows and to stay close together. He wrote that everything was done “according to orders given through messages.” According to Koha Jonë, the Socialist also published messages that he said showed an order to set fire to the Toptani shopping center and the Plaza hotel, adding that hundreds of customers were inside Toptani Center.

Balla's accusations came at the height of a tense day, as protesters threw Molotov cocktails and pyrotechnics at police near the PS headquarters and in other parts of the center. Footage of officers trying to put out flames on a colleague's uniform circulated widely online.

Sali Berisha and PD did not respond directly to these accusations during the afternoon. In the evening, the Democratic leader described the day as a national protest in support of the students and accused police of violence against protesters.