Editor’s note
Assassinations, explosions, burglaries and confrontation from North to South have been the dark side of the chronicle of the public order in Albania over the last two days where the citizens are feeling themselves under the threat of criminals which adds to the tense situation worsening due to the unchecked spread of the pandemic.
The last 24 hours have registered 5 events that shook the country in Durrës, Shkodra, Tirana, Fier and Elbasan. Saturday morning started with a very grave event in Durrës, where Edmond Koçi, also known as “Mond Çekiçi”, a former member of Lulzim Berisha’s gang, was executed by a barrage of bullets. He had only been out of jail for a few months because of Covid. Çekiçi was
traveling in a vehicle with a driver at the moment when another car cut his way.
Police reported that they found 30 automatic cartridges at the scene. Meanwhile, on Sunday night, 23 people were escorted to the police station to be asked about the serious criminal event.
Meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon, the capital of the north, Shkodra, was shaken, where 2 brothers Hoten and Marjan Doçaj were wounded with firearms by Besmir Përolaj, while traveling in their “Audi” type vehicle in the village of Bardhaj in Shkodra. The Doçaj brothers are relatives of Gentian Doçi, the latter a well-known name for the police and suspected as the organizer of the kidnapping of Jan Prenga in Kamza, reported abcnews.al.
In Tirana, a conflict that took place on Wednesday in the capital almost turned into a serious event on Saturday evening.
Ronaldo Gurabardhi fired in the air, near an apartment in the area of Kombinat after a conflict with Artur Korteshi, with whom he had a conflict. Inhabitants were terrorized by the gunshots.
Meanwhile in Burrel, where a quantity of TNT exploded in the apartment of SHISH employee Alfred Karaj, new details were learned from the serious event, according to police information.
The incident happened after 23:00 on Saturday night while Karaj and his family were not at home, as they were in the capital, with some of their relatives. There are no injuries by the explosion but significant material damage, while the amount of tritol is suspected to have been quite large, and has been placed on the doorstep of the house. There was significant damage to other apartments, whose doors and windows have been broken.
The event is suspected to be related to the work done by Karaj, and at the moment this is the main track of the investigation.
In the meantime 2 apartments were forcefully stolen in Elbasan on Saturday night. An apartment was stolen in the Vullnetari neighborhood, where the robbers took valuable materials, according to the evidence by family members reported to the Police.
The second theft in Elbasan occurred in the Tregan administrative unit, where it is suspected that two people entered the apartment and stole construction materials and a motorcycle, which they abandoned, because there was no fuel.
In another incident police reported that the windows of the election offices of two political entities were damaged with stones early Sunday morning. The targets the offices of the Socialist Party and the Justice, Integration and Unity Party in the town of Fier, southern Albania.
This is a glimpse of the black chronicle over this weekend. No one forgets the confrontation between SP and DP militants on March 14 in the presence of the respective leaders of the two camps Edi Rama and Lulzim Basha. In addition PM Rama was faced with crowds of citizens in Shkodra shouting ‘Rama Go!’ when he paid. a visit in that city on March 18.
But the worst highlight of the chronicle was the physical conflict in Labinot of Elbasan, where the DP candidate for MP clashed with businessman Gjergj Luca, a SP strong supporter, on March 18. Former DP deputy Boçi and businessman Gjergj Luca were involved in a clash, and so far the causes of this incident are not known with both sides accusing each other after denuoncing the incident to police!!!
When April 25 is approaching and Albanians are set to go to the polls to elect the new parliament the last episodes of criminal events across the country are a bad omen burdening the political confrontation between the rivals in a race that normally should be a peaceful choice of the citizens. Unfortunately, such a background brings back memories of past tense atmosphere full of violence which have spoiled the normal standards of peaceful, free and democratic elections. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself because criminals and gangs have always stepped up the demonstration of their power at election times in this Balkan country./argumentum.al
