This is the prelude to secession. A few bridges have already been blown up further south, in Gjirokaster province. The fact that the country is split is shown by the surreal election campaign begun, without agreed rules, by President Berisha, who yesterday held a rally in Fier, the last area south of Tirana still under his control. Overnight he made yet another mediation attempt. The trial of strength conducted on hot coals continues, and the South in turn accuses the government of boycotting an agreement.
Nobody believes the stories about gang warfare.
According to the inquiries, the attack the other day was organized by a group to avenge a kidnapping by Zani's men. But it is impossible to obtain confirmation, when the institutions are nonexistent, and to reconstruct a scenario of kidnappings, attacks, robberies, and homicides nurtured by this absence. Opposition political sources argue that funds made available under the state of emergency have been used to enroll at least a thousand agents.