Konstantinos Katsifas, a 35-year-old Greek man was shot dead by Albanian police on Sunday near the village of Vouliarates (Bularat), around 5km from the Greek-Albanian border, during an alleged shooting exchange between the man and special police forces.
Katsifas had raised the Greek flag for “OXI Day” on Sunday, to commemorate the Greek soldiers who lost their lives during the war in 1940.
According to Albanian media, the 35-year-old used a gun to shoot toward the Albanian police forces who removed the flag following October 28 celebrations in the village and then went into hiding but was intercepted shortly after by a team from the Albanian police's special forces, who claimed that the 35-year-old shot at them before they opened fire and killed him.
Greek authorities are in contact with those in Albania and expect the incident that led to the death of the man to be fully clarified, a foreign ministry press release said on Sunday.
Expressing deep sorrow and condolences to the family, the ministry said it was "unacceptable that the operation reached the point where human life was lost."
"We expect from Albanian authorities the full clarification of the conditions under which the Greek citizen in question lost his life and will immediately take the appropriate action," it concluded.
