Albanians Protest Kushner Luxury Resort on Adriatic Coast

Around 200 protesters tore down metal and barbed wire fences surrounding a luxury development project on Albania's Adriatic coast on Saturday, in the latest sign of growing anger against construction in environmentally sensitive areas.

Albanians have been protesting for weeks against a planned luxury resort near Vlora, backed by a company linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. The area is known for its flamingo populations and turtle nesting grounds.

On Saturday, villagers from Rrjoll, in an area of sandy beaches and pine forests in northwestern Albania, also protested against a separate project unrelated to Kushner, saying it was being built on their confiscated land. They waved Albanian national flags and shouted "revolution" while tearing down fences. Several scuffles broke out with police, who did not intervene to prevent the fence from being removed.

An Albanian company is building a luxury five-star resort on the site, which the Albanian government has granted "special status investor".

(reuters, im)