TIRANA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Around 24 protesters and police officers were injured as the result of a violent protest held in Albania's Durres-Kukes highway against the Albania's first toll road starting from April 15, Albanian interior ministry confirmed Saturday.
Protesters gathered around midday in the highway, also known as Nation's Road, to protest against tax set to be imposed by the government from mid-April.
The protest came out of control and the protesters clashed with police forces, destroying and burning the tax-paying counters set by the concessionaire company.
After nearly four hours of protest, the Albanian ministry of interior reported that 12 protesters and 12 police forces were wounded.
Albanian Minister of Interior Fatmir Xhafaj in a press conference strongly condemned the violence used by the protesters on the police forces and on the public and private property.
President of Albania Ilir Meta called for restraint, dialogue and avoiding violence in order to normalize the situation and restore the regular movement of the vehicles and the waiting citizens, after the violence has created a traffic jam of about 10 km long.
The opposition leader of the Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha called on the country's Prime Minister Edi Rama to immediately suspend the fee for crossing the Nation's Road.
Rama called the protest as barbaric violence over common property, saying the violent reaction to law enforcement in Kukes will receive the deserved answer in accordance with the law.
Every driver will have to pay an average toll of 5 euros when crossing on the Nation's Road that connects Albania to Kosovo, according to the government.
