Albania Rocked by 2nd Day of Riots; More Troops Called

Troops moved into the central city of Elbasan to halt a mob of about 1,000 as Albania was rocked Friday by a second day of riots, an Albanian journalist said.

The ATA journalist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the angry crowd stoned official buildings, “broke windows, looted food shops, set fire to different shops, cars and machinery.” He added that “they destroyed everything in their way,” and he indicated that local police had failed to stop the crowd.

Albanian radio confirmed the unrest in Elbasan, about 18 miles southeast of the capital Tirana.

An editor of the Albanian ATA news agency said Elbasan, a city of about 80,000 residents with a giant steel mill, was quiet Friday night after soldiers and security forces moved in.

No reports emerged on injuries or arrests.

Albanian media also reported heavy damage in seven hours of vandalism and looting in the northern city of Shkodra on Thursday. It said that 10 people were hurt and 30 arrested there.

The official Tanjug news agency in neighboring Yugoslavia reported that Albanian Justice Minister Enver Halili appeared on TV and said that democracy and socialism were in danger in Albania.

The two days of riots followed government concessions that allowed formation of Albania’s first non-Communist party. The small Balkan nation south of Yugoslavia is ruled by the last Stalinist regime remaining in Europe.

Journalists and intellectuals had said Communist President Ramiz Alia was meeting with leaders of the Democratic Party of Albania, formed on Wednesday, as both sides were appealing for calm and a halt to the unrest in provincial cities.

But an intellectual said later that the meeting never took place. He said the authorities explained that no meeting was needed because “all that must be done and said has been done and said. No more words. Now we must work.”