TIRANA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Albanian Minister of Interior, Fatmir Xhafaj, resigned unexpectedly from the position of Interior Minister on Saturday.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama via Twitter announced in the morning that Xhafaj had submitted to him his resignation.
"I accepted the resignation of Minister Xhafaj, whom I thank for the valuable contribution. We should increase the speed now and more meaningful results have to be achieved," twitted Rama.
Meanwhile, Rama also announced that he has appointed General Sander Lleshi as Minister of Interior.
Until Friday, Lleshi held the post of Prime Minister Adviser on security issues.
Soon after the announcement made by Prime Minister Rama, Xhafaj's spokesman distributed to local media a message that does not explain the causes that prompted him to resign from this post.
"After more than one year at the direction of the Ministry of Interior, I have presented to Prime Minister Edi Rama my resignation as Minister of the Interior. The challenges were enormous, but I am proud of the leadership of a team with integrity and dedication to the Ministry of Interior and the State Police, we have been able to achieve very important successes in strengthening the order and security in the country, some of them considered impossible for years," reads the message from Xhafaj.
Meanwhile, in reaction to the resignation, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party in Albania, Lulzim Basha, said that the resignation of Fatmir Xhafaj is an important step in our battle to clean up crime policy.
