World News from the BBC
Opposition parties in Albania are threatening more protests following violent clashes on Friday between police and tens of thousands of demonstrators, in which three people were killed. Prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for six members of the national guard in connection with the deaths. Our Balkan correspondent Mark Lowen reports.
A spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office confirmed to the BBC that the arrest warrant for the national guard members was issued on Saturday, but has still not been carried out by the state police. The fallout is now being felt from Friday’s clashes, in which three demonstrators were killed outside the office of the Prime Minister Sali Berisha. He is blaming the opposition socialist leader Edi Rama for fermenting the violence. For his part, Mr Rama has accused the prime minister of being the orchestrator of the deaths of the three demonstrators. Video footage aired on the Internet appears to show the shots coming from inside the prime minister’s compound.
A group of West African heads of state have forced the resignation of the governor of the West African Central Bank in an effort to keep up the pressure on Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to step down as president of Ivory Coast. The move came as the European Union said it would impose sanctions on the bank’s governor. From the Ivorian commercial capital Abidjan, John James reports.
In a month since the Central Bank governor was told to give Alassane Ouattara unique access to the Ivorian bank accounts, Laurent Gbagbo has been able to withdraw around $160m, money that will help him pay army salaries this month and stay on in power. That left heads of state from the West African Monetary Zone meeting in Mali this weekend little choice but to ask the bank governor to resign, which he did. For Mr Gbagbo’s administration, the loss of access to the state accounts will increase the financial pressure. They are already facing travel bans, asset freezes and the threat of a regional military intervention.