Crisis escalates in Albania after protest deaths
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A political crisis escalated in Albania on Saturday as the government and the opposition traded blame for the deaths of three protests during a violent demonstration against an administration accused of deeply rooted corruption. The Prosecutor General's office said arrest warrants had been issued for six officers of the National Guard, army troops under Interior Ministry command who guard government institutions and senior officials.
Tensions have been mounting for months between Albania's conservative government and the main opposition Socialist Party. They rose sharply last week when Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta resigned after a private TV station aired a video that it said showed him asking a colleague to influence the awarding of a contract to build a power station. (AP)
