Police in Tirana fire what appeared to be rubber bullets at student protesters outside Albania’s education ministry during clashes on Saturday, the fifth day of demonstrations demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama step down. Reuters video footage showed officers firing a shotgun towards crowds. Reporters found rubber pellets on the ground, including pellets that hit two Reuters journalists and several protesters, leaving round marks. The confrontations have intensified over the past days across central Tirana, with demonstrators burning government buildings and banks and throwing rocks at police. Officers have responded with tear gas and water cannon. Albania’s police chief Skender Hita did not deny the use of rubber bullets at a news conference. He said all means used were employed in a limited manner and added that seven police officers have been suspended and face disciplinary investigations for exceeding their authority and failing to respect the principle of proportionality. Hita said 1,067 people had been arrested and 388 criminally prosecuted. Scores of police officers and protesters have been injured. The unrest is linked to anger over perceived government corruption, lack of jobs, and poor education standards, with authorities and the government calling for calm as Rama refuses to step down. The suspensions and disciplinary investigations are ongoing, while prosecutions continue following the arrests.