Socialists and Democrats Trigger Chaotic Brawl in European Nation’s Parliament

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Violence erupted inside the Albanian Parliament on Thursday, mirroring the situation in the streets outside.

According to the Cyprus-based news outlet Politis, MPs from the ruling Socialist Party clashed with colleagues from the opposition Democratic Party.

The clip began with a two-handed shove, followed seconds later by the throwing of a green voting card. From there, colleagues tried to separate combatants.

Politis reported that the brawl began when Democratic MP Flamur Noka tried to take voting cards from his Socialist colleagues.

Then, as seen in the video above, Democratic Party MP Fidel Kreka shoved Socialist MP Ervin Hoxha. The two MPs went at each other before colleagues and members of the parliamentary guard intervened to separate them.

The Kreka-Hoxha brawl represented the culmination of a tense session that also featured opposition Democrats blocking the parliamentary podium to prevent the ruling Socialists from conducting business as usual.