Tirana , Albania ( CNN ) -- At least three protesters were shot dead from close range in a clash with police Friday outside the Albanian prime minster 's office , a hospital official said , an escalation of some of the worst politically fueled tension to wrack the southern European nation in 14 years . The face-off also left 23 demonstrators hurt , including three in critical condition with head injuries at Tirana Military Hospital , according to its emergency unit chief , Sami Koceku . He said that at least 17 police officers also injured in the confrontations were at that hospital , one of the city 's main medical facilities . A report from state-run network TVSH had a slightly higher injury toll from hospitals throughout Tirana , Albania 's capital and most populated city . It put the count at 35 demonstrators and 27 police . The opposition Socialist Party claimed , on its website , that around 250,000 people gathered outside Prime Minister Sali Berisha 's office to implore him to resign amid allegations of corruption and fraud related to the June 2009 election . Some of the protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at some of the more than 1,000 police who were at the scene , ostensibly to provide security . Authorities responded by using water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowds . Afterwards , Albania 's current president , Bamir Topi , issued a statement urging all political parties to resume talks soon and not to reopen old wounds -- referring to a 1997 at-times violent crisis that also targeted Berisha , who was then the nation 's president . Topi urged `` calm and self-restraint '' by all Albanians , as well as support for the police and governmental institutions . The U.S. Embassy in Tirana issued a like-minded statement on Friday , expressing `` deep regret that ( the protest ) was not peaceful '' and calling on all sides `` to abstain from provocations . '' Rather , the embassy pushed for `` constructive dialogue and compromise to resolve the existing political differences . '' And the European Union , which has been considering adding Albania as a member , also `` urgently '' appealed to `` all political forces ... to engage in a constructive ( dialogue ) and to mobilize the countries ' energies '' to resolve the political stalemate . `` Demonstrators are instruments of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly for citizens , '' said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Stefan Fule , commissioner for enlargement and the European neighborhood policy , in a statement . `` We deplore that today 's event has spiralled into violence . '' Yet key players in Friday 's incident , and in the long-brewing political friction in Albania , showed no signs of backing down Friday . Berisha directly blamed the casualties on his chief political rival , Socialist Party leader Edi Rama , whom he accused of scheming to have demonstrators take over the prime minister 's office , parliament and key ministries , state-run ATA news agency reported . Rama `` will take full responsibility , '' Berisha told reporters , adding that Friday 's actions `` will not be accepted , but punished . '' For his part , Rama -- who is also the mayor of Tirana -- accused government forces of going overboard , and blamed police for provoking protesters by using the water tanks and tear gas . Earlier this month , in an interview quoted in a Socialist Party newsletter , Rama reiterated long-standing claims that Berisha 's ruling Democratic Party had rigged the most recent election . `` Are there any Albanians who have not yet understood that ( Berisha ) stole the elections in order to rob Albania ? '' he said . `` That was clear to us from the very beginning , but by now it has become clear to every reasonable Albanian . '' The country 's supreme court determined that the elections were orderly , and the ballots were burned by the Central Election Commission . The Socialist Party boycotted Albania 's parliament between September 2009 and February 2010 , according to the U.S. State Department . Efforts since then to resolve the long political stalemate have been unsuccessful , with opposition parties continuing to push hard against the Democrats in alleging corruption . On Friday , Berisha guaranteed that there would `` be no early elections '' and that `` general elections will be held in 2013 , '' a rebuttal to the timeline being pushed by the opposition . The tensions escalated in the past two weeks , after a former government minister sent the media a secret recording that allegedly documented an illicit back-room deal . In the video , then-Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta asked Dritan Prifti , who at that point was Albania 's economic minister , to arrange for irregular contracts and have the government hire hacks who belonged to his small party , the Socialist Movement for Integration . Meta later replaced Prifti , a member of that same party , as economic minister . He resigned from that position last week , even as he claimed that the tape featuring him and Prifti had been manipulated with bits edited in and out , out of context . Still , the opposition largely has focused its wrath on Berisha . This is not his first time under fire : In 1997 , for instance , angry mobs protested against Berisha -- then the nation 's president -- after voting irregularities and costly Ponzi schemes plunged Albania into near-anarchy and led to snap elections . The animosity , and harsh rhetoric , have heightened in recent weeks . In addition to increasingly pointed , accusatory barbs between Rama and Berisha , personal slurs marred a parliamentary session this week meant to settle governmental changes following Meta 's resignation .
NEW : The EU , which has considered adding Albania , urges `` calm '' and `` dialogue '' in the wake of recent violence. The opposition leader blames the ruling government for the violence . A hospital official says the 3 killed in Tirana protests were shot at close range .