Ten police officers were injured when masked protesters attacked Police Station No. 3 in Tirana with Molotov cocktails, pyrotechnics, stones and other objects, Albania’s police chief Skënder Hita said.

Hita said the attack posed a serious risk to officers and people being held inside the station. He added that police were working to identify those involved and refer evidence to the relevant judicial authorities.

The police chief said officers had faced repeated acts of violence over the past six days, while stressing that peaceful protest was a constitutional right.

“An attack on a police station is not a protest,” Hita said, condemning the violence and pledging that police would respond in accordance with the law.

He called on those involved in violent acts to stop and urged peaceful protesters to distance themselves from violence.