Last week marked a sharp escalation in Tirana, as police deployed counter-terror units, rubber bullets, and heavy barrages of tear gas to crack down on protesting students.
Analysis of social media footage from the protests suggests that a significant part of the spent munitions were procured from Italian manufacturers. Some footage, depicting expired CS gas cartridges or shell casings of hunting munitions, raise also questions about the use of illegal munitions.
Some of the spent munitions were independently documented by Albanian lawyer Dea Nini in 146-page-long report, Albania: Police Use of Force and Accountability During the October 2026 Student protests.
The report also documented neck and chest injuries suffered under ubclear circumstances. According to UN guidelines, kinetic impact projectiles should never be fired directly at the upper body, neck, or head.
