Gunfire Forces Chief To Abandon Rally

Amid escalating violence in the run-up to elections in Albania, gunfire forced President Sali Berisha to beat a hasty retreat from a campaign rally here Thursday. At least eight people were wounded after Berisha’s guards opened sustained automatic fire in the direction of the crowd, which included Berisha’s supporters. The crowd fled in panic.

Berisha rushed from the town square, surrounded by a gaggle of his aides, after speaking for barely five minutes. Throughout his appearance, bursts of gunfire were heard repeatedly from just beyond the square, clearly rattling the nerves of the presidential entourage.

“Nothing stops us! Long live democracy!” Berisha, in a hoarse voice, called from behind a wall of aides lined to protect him.

About 150 supporters stood in front of Berisha and cheered. But most of the crowd kept its distance across the square and booed.

The right-wing president is the target of enormous hostility from Albanians who blame him for the collapse of pyramid schemes that impoverished many and plunged the country into anarchy during the spring.