Unrest In Albania Growing Into Armed Rebellion Government Jets Bomb Southern Town, Official Says Situation ‘Out Of Control’

The civil conflict in Albania worsened Wednesday, as government jets bombed a southern town in an attempt to quell an armed rebellion that officials acknowledged was “out of control.”

Amid confused and often contradictory reports of firefights between government troops and anti-government militants, international attempts to mediate the crisis foundered. Foreign Minister Tritan Shehu rejected an offer by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to help establish a dialogue between the two sides, saying the timing of the proposal was “inconvenient.”

Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini issued a pessimistic assessment of the situation, saying that the Albanian government was unable to halt the unrest that has rolled through the southern towns of Vlore, Sarande and Delfina since last weekend.

Dini said that Shehu, in a telephone call, told him that the Army had lost three armored vehicles and that the situation was out of control.

The crisis in Albania was sparked six weeks ago by the colossal failure of pyramid investment schemes that touched nearly everyone in this country of 3.5 million people, fueling dissent against the government of President Sali Berisha.

For the second day since a state of emergency was enforced, armed military guards restricted travel and turned back journalists attempting to reach the troubled south.

Neither the government’s claims of unrest or other reports of lawlessness - including one skirmish that was said to have left four dead and three wounded in the port city of Vlore - could be independently confirmed.

Albanian troops again were seen moving from Tirana to the southern coast amid reports of civilian uprising. Albanian government jets dropped a bomb near the town of Sarande.

According to wire service reports, protesters in the Sarande area, located about 120 miles south of Tirana, commandeered an Army tank and fired assaults rifles at the jets flying overhead.

A local journalist, reached by phone Wednesday night in Sarande, said that the townspeople in the community of about 20,000 had take up positions inside fortified bunkers around town. The nearby village of Delfina successfully defended itself in a skirmish Wednesday morning with about 70 government troops, he said.

The protesters have said they want Berisha to step down and want an international committee to mediate a new government. “They’re very, very upset with a government that has called them ‘red terrorists,’ ” the local journalist said, referring to remarks by Berisha last weekend.