Hundreds of Albanians Seek Asylum Amid Riots

Rioting broke out in the Albanian capital of Tirana when hundreds of people tried to enter a foreign embassy, and an unspecified number of people were wounded, the Albanian government said today.

The Greek government said there were reports of deaths.

Western diplomats said about 200 refugees had sought sanctuary in foreign embassies since late last week apparently in an attempt to flee Albania’s repressive regime.

A statement by the official Albanian news agency ATA said 300 to 400 people, including “vagabonds, former prisoners . . . as well as some deceived adolescents,” tried to enter a foreign embassy in Tirana Monday night.

They clashed with “forces of order,” throwing stones, bricks and breaking shop windows, and some people “were slightly wounded,” it said.

“With the immediate interference of the forces of order and the working people of the capital, the persons who violated order and tranquility dispersed. There were slightly wounded on both parties,” ATA added, and a number had been detained.

The news agency called the disturbances “alarming” and said they were aimed at distorting “the image of Albania in the world.”

Earlier, a West German Foreign Ministry spokesman said 83 refugees were in the West German Embassy compound, and 60 to 80 others were scattered in other foreign embassies.

The spokesman, Hanns Schumacher, would not specify which embassies were involved. The West German Bild newspaper said they included the embassies of Greece, Italy, Algeria and Egypt.

A Western diplomat in Tirana said about 200 Albanians had sought refuge in at least 11 embassies.