Thousands Fleeing Albania As Chaos Continues

In the square where the first stirrings of Albanian discontent began, a crowd mourned victims Sunday and appealed for an end to the anarchy which has forced thousands to flee and pushed President Sali Berisha into a corner.

Across the Adriatic Sea, Italian authorities said their ports are strained to the limit with more than 4,000 Albanian refugees. At least another 100 former military officers and sailors were en route in an Albanian navy torpedo boat they commandeered.

In Tirana, 2,000 people chanted “Albania” and waved flowers or linked hands in Skanderbeg Square, where the first anti-government protests were staged in December following the collapse of investment funds promising high yields.

Struggling to regain control in the capital, authorities formed a civilian militia to work alongside police at roadblocks and patrols. In an apparent attempt to balance its harsh tactics, the government declared Sunday a national day of mourning.

The crowd held aloft posters showing a bloody hand, with a slogan against violence, and the portrait of a teenager killed in Tirana last week. People knelt twice for a moment of silence, and several women wept.

Nurie Rica, 45, said it was the first time her 3-year-old grandson, Jurgen, had been outside since shooting began in Tirana last week. She said she has faith in the new government formed last week “because it’s a coalition for reconciliation.”

But the appeals for peace were offset by continuing chaos and exodus elsewhere.

In the port of Durres, about 25 miles west of Tirana, police fired on a mob that tried to commandeer a vessel to take them to Italy. Four people were injured, hospital officials said.

Four Turkish navy snipers watched over the evacuation of 250 Turks, taken in small Zodiac vessels to a vessel off the coast. In Tirana, U.S. Marine helicopters continued to ferry Americans to a ship in the Adriatic Sea. Three Italian navy helicopters evacuated 30 more people from Tirana.

In the southern Albanian port of Saranda, about 100 former military officers and sailors took command of an Albanian navy torpedo boat and set sail for Italy.