Albanians, Italian Police Clash Anew

Police fired tear gas and Albanian refugees set fire to three cars Saturday in clashes that broke out as Italy pressed ahead with the repatriation of the refugees.

The incidents erupted at a soccer stadium where about 4,000 of the more than 10,000 who fled to this southern port city aboard a freighter Thursday are being held.

At the Bari dockside, several Albanians were injured when police charged in to push them away from food supplies. Dozens of others were taken away by ambulance after fainting in the hot sun.

It was the third day of clashes between police and Albanians who are resisting deportation despite facing their third night on the dirty dockside or at the bleak stadium.

By Saturday evening, about half the refugees had been flown or shipped back home, the Interior Ministry said.

Dirty and disheveled after three days on the dockside, about 1,000 who left on the Malta Express ferry Saturday underwent body searches and were handed straw hats and baseball caps before boarding without protest. Many said they will try to escape again.

Italy, still reeling from an earlier influx of 25,000 Albanians seeking escape from their country’s abysmal poverty, has insisted all new arrivals must go home.