In defiance of all the warnings against further offences, the armed group that occupied a police building in Yerevan continue actions threatening the life and health of law-enforcers and causing property damage, Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) says in a statement.
Warning of the group’s “increasingly hazardous conduct spiraling out of control”, the NSS promises to take tougher action “to avert further offenses”.
“Being well-aware of the criminal band’s intentions and prearranged offensive conduct, we warn of our plan to take return action to neutralize all the threats to our population’s life and health,” reads the statement.
Yerevan Update: It is crowded in Khorenatsi Street. Yenigomshyan picked mic from Pashinyan
Today, on July 23 it is still crowded in Khorenatsy Street in the evening, reports the NEWS.am. Many people gathered to express their support for the Sasna Tserer group .
In his speech, Nikol Pashinyan referred to the announcement of Vitaly Balasanyan about Zhirayr Sefilyan’s refusal from demanding the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan. Pashinyan said that he did not believe that Zhirayr Sefilyan could say such a thing. He expressing a hope that Sefilyan will find a way to deny that. “Otherwise, it’s like a nightmare. It will turn out that for the second time in the last two years, the force that invites us here gives up his position, “he said.
Pashinyan also commented on Varuzhan Avetisyan’s announcement about him. Recently Varuzhan Avetisyan stated that Pashinyan wanted to “warm his hands on blood.” According to Pashinyan, he came up with a comprehensive agenda and roadmap. “The question is what the motto of a non-violent struggle is. The only possible condition that will allow to remove Serzh Sargsyan from power is the people’s will. We had a problem to create the conditions for citizens to come here with their families and express their will without a fear. This is a platform for civil war, and nothing else should take place here, “he said.
He said again that after todays’ statements it is impossible for him to be present in that area. “There should not be any deaths during a demonstration. There will be no blood , ” he said .
After Pashinyan had left the platform, the members of ” Founding Parliament” took the mic. Yenigomshyan declared that the regime resorted to fraud. ” The announcement that one of the Sassoon Tsrer members decided to lay down the arms is ridiculous. The guys proved that there is no such a thing. Today’s masterpiece was the statement of the former commander of Artskh Vitali Balasanyan about Sefilyan’s refusal to require the President’s resignation . I was there during their meeting, and I insist that Vitaly Balasanyan’s announcement about Zhirayr Sefilyan is a distortion of reality , ” said Yenigomshyan .
Yerevan Update: Armed group frees all hostages from seized police building
YEREVAN. – Two remaining hostages — both senior police officers — kept in the seized police headquarters in Yerevan had been released.
Deputy chief of Armenia’s police Vardan Yeghiazaryan and deputy chief of Yerevan policy Valery Osipyan has been released by an armed group.
Earlier on Saturday the gunmen set free other two hostages had been released without preconditions.
According to Shant television, member of the group Varuzhan Avetisyan met with the director of the National Security Service Gevorg Kutoyan and decided to release another two hostages in exchange for setting up a media center. The report was confirmed for Shant television by General Vitaly Balasanyan who was a mediator in the meeting.
“The process of creating a neutral zone for their communication with reporters is underway,” Balasanyan said. “As soon as the center is set up, two remaining hostages – Osipyan and Yeghiazaryan – would be released.”
It has been the seventh day since a group of armed men stormed into a capital city Yerevan police station.
Armenian Protesters, Police Clash At Hostage Standoff Scene Video
Demonstrators sympathetic to an armed opposition group holding hostages pelted a heavy cordon of riot police with rocks, after which the police used stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
By RFE/RL’s Armenian Service
July 20, 2016
YEREVAN — Hundreds of Armenian protesters sympathetic to an armed opposition group holding hostages at a district police headquarters in Yerevan clashed with police on July 20 after their demand to provide food to the gunmen went unheeded by authorities.
Demonstrators pelted a heavy cordon of riot police with rocks, after which police used stun grenades to disperse the crowd. A group of officers reportedly detached from the rest and chased some demonstrators.
An RFE/RL Armenian Service correspondent at the scene reported seeing blood stains on the asphalt. One elderly man with blood on his face said he had been struck by police batons, and at least three ambulances were seen speeding to the scene.
The gunmen took over the Erebuni police station at dawn on July 17, killing one police officer and wounding six other people, and prompting a standoff with police.They continue to hold four police officers hostage.
The gunmen are demanding the release of Zhirayr Sefilian, the leader of the Founding Parliament opposition movement, who was arrested last month on charges of illegal acquisition and possession of weapons.
They also want President Serzh Sarkisian to step down.
Authorities have rejected the group’s demands and say negotiations are underway with the gunmen for their surrender.
Armenia’s deputy police chief, Samvel Hovhannisian, told RFE/RL that “numerous” police officers have been injured in the July 20 clashes near the police station.
LIVE FEED: Clashes At Yerevan Police Station
Meanwhile, tensions were also reported in another part of the besieged area.
Nikol Pashinian, an opposition lawmaker who has been acting as a mediator in negotiations between police and the armed group on issues such as food, returned to the scene on July 20 and tried to pacify the situation by talking with both police and protesters.
The Founding Parliament is sharply critical of the way the government has dealt with the long-running conflict in Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory that both Armenia and Azerbaijan claim.
The group frequently stages street protests in Yerevan demanding Sarkisian’s resignation.
Yerevan hostage stand-off: National Security Service continues surveillance
Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) is undertaking special operations to resolve the stand-off at the patrol police regiment which was seized by an armed opposition group on Sunday.
Five policemen have been so far released in what the law enforcement bodies call an anti-terrorist operation.
One police officer was killed and two others were injured after the group calling itself “Daredevils of Sassoun” (Founding Parliament movement) burst into the building, calling for the release of Zhirayr Sefilyan, the civic movement’s leader who was detained in June.
Four policemen are still being kept hostage.
In a press release, the NSS says that they are continuing negotiations with the group’s members to reach a peaceful solution.
“The measures undertaken are special and narrowly professional; hence the individuals responsible for their organization and implementation do not need any intervention or assistance,” reads the official statement.
Yerevan: Armed group to respond to NSS’ demands by 7 pm
The armed group that seized a police HQ in Yerevan is ready to respond to the demands of the National Security Service by 7:00 pm local time, one of the members of the group said Tuesday, July 19.
The group stormed the police department on Sunday, taking everyone inside hostage. The gunmen are members of the Sasna Tsrer movement. One police officer was killed, and three more were wounded in a shootout that broke as the members of the group hit the gates of the police department with a Ural track. Several captives have been set free so far. The group demand the release of Jirair Sefilian, the founder of the Founding Parliament who was arrested on June 20, as he and a group of people had planned to seize premises and communication facilities, including the Yerevan TV tower.
“I have been participating in negotiations between the NSS and the representatives of Sasna Tsrer group, the one that is holding the police building in Erebuni,” Novosti Armenia cited Alek Yenigomshyan as saying.
“I conveyed to them the NSS’ demands to which they are ready to respond in the evening.”
Yenigomshyan, however, failed to unveil the main requirements that the NSS has put forward.
According to Yenigomshyan, after reaching a preliminary agreement, as well as securing the gunmen’s readiness to consider the authorities’ proposals, everyone inside the police premises was deprived of all kinds of communications.
“It is impossible to negotiate in such conditions; unless communication is restored in the building within half an hour, we’ll consider negotiations unilaterally ceased on the authorities’ behalf,” Yenigomshyan said.
According to him, the members of the group coordinate their actions with Sefilian.
The situation at the scene is calm, with no incidents registered throughout the night.
Yerevan Update: Some Hostages Freed As Standoff Continues In Armenia
Opposition leader Zhirayr Sefilian
By RFE/RL’s Armenian Service
Last updated (GMT/UTC): 18.07.2016 11:48
YEREVAN — Gunmen affiliated with an Armenian opposition group have freed three of seven hostages at an occupied Yerevan police station as a standoff with security forces enters a second day.
The occupation started when at least a dozen gunmen stormed the station in the city’s southern Erebuni district at dawn on July 17, killing one police officer and wounding six other people.
The gunmen are demanding the release of Zhirayr Sefilian, the leader of the Founding Parliament opposition movement, who was arrested last month for allegedly plotting an armed revolt.
They also want President Serzh Sarkisian to step down.
The hostage takers and the police officers they are holding have reportedly been supplied with food and medication.
Earlier, a first deputy chief of the Armenian national police force, General Hunan Poghosian, told reporters that those still being held include two senior police commanders.
Their releases were part of ongoing negotiations, the National Security Service (NSS) said in a statement.
The officer killed during the storming of the station was named as a police colonel, Artur Vanoyan.
The Armenian Health Ministry on July 18 raised the casualty figure from four to six injured.
Aravot.am reported that one of the gunmen told the website by telephone that the group had freed the first two hostages at Sefilian’s request, relayed to them by another Founding Parliament member who was allowed to visit them late on July 17.
But he added that negotiations would continue for the time being.
Varuzhan Avetisian, a spokesman for Founding Parliament, announced that “they are starting a rebellion” and an attempt to “overthrow the government” while also trying to secure the “release of political prisoners.”
EXPLAINER: What Is Armenia’s ‘Founding Parliament’ Movement?
The group has released a video on Facebook calling on Armenian citizens to take to the streets against the government.
The Facebook video showed several men in flak jackets and armed with Kalashnikovs as well as several hostages being held inside the police building.
“We are doing this for you. People, take to the streets!” one of the gunmen said in the video while also calling for the release “of all political prisoners.”
The gunmen’s call for public unrest reportedly has met with silence.
Police have cordoned off the area near the police station, with armored vehicles blocking off the road to the police station.
“The law-enforcement agencies fully control the situation and are taking all necessary measures to resolve it,” the NSS said in a statement.
President Serzh Sarkisian held consultations with security officials to decide how best to handle the situation, his office said, saying he had been told that the siege was completely under control.
Residents of nearby apartment buildings said they heard several explosions early in the morning and gunshots were also reported afterwards.
Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker and outspoken government critic Nikol Pashinian visited the police station and spoke with the attackers twice during the night.
Pashinian, the leader of the newly established Civic Agreement opposition party, said one of the attackers inside the police station had a serious head wound.
He also said a policeman, who was feeling unwell, was released by the hostage-takers.
The Founding Parliament group frequently stages street protests in Yerevan demanding Sarkisian’s resignation.
The group is particularly critical of the way the government has been handling a long-running conflict in Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the territory claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Sefilian and six of his supporters were arrested on June 20 after the authorities initially said they were preparing a plot to seize several government buildings and telecommunication facilities in Yerevan.
He was formally charged with illegal acquisition and possession of weapons. Sefilian says the case against him is politically motivated.
Just days before his arrest, Sefilian announced plans to set up a new opposition movement called the National Resistance Committee. He said the new movement would try to topple the government “with the help of the people and the army.”
Sefilian was arrested in 2006 over calls for “a violent overthrow of the government.”
He was released in 2008.
In 2015, Sefilian was arrested again along with several of his supporters on suspicion of preparing a coup, but released shortly afterwards.
With reporting by AFP and AP
Situation at Yerevan police station is calm 32 hours after attack
YEREVAN. – More than 30 hours have passed since the incident that occurred in a police station in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan, and the armed group is still holding several policemen hostage.
But the situation is calm at the moment, and nothing extraordinary has been recorded.
Police Chief of Armenia Vladimir Gasparyan, and National Security Service (NSS) Chief Georgi Kutoyan arrived at the scene early Monday morning. But they left shortly thereafter, and without responding to the journalists’ questions.
As reported earlier, the NSS issued a statement noting that a police officer and a civilian were released over night.
It was noted, however, that the armed group refuses to release other forcibly detained persons, including senior police officials, and put down their weapons and surrender to authorities.
The First Deputy Chief of Police of Armenia, Hunan Poghosyan, informed that the armed group is currently holding five policemen hostage.
Even though the street running in front of the said police station is still closed, active movement by police vehicles is occasionally observed.
A group of armed men stormed into a police regiment, on early Sunday morning, and took several police officers hostage. One officer, deputy regiment commander Artur Vanoyan, was killed. In addition, four police officers and one of the people who participated in the attack were wounded.
Negotiations are still underway to release the remaining hostages and end the armed attack.
Armenian President Holds Security Meeting Amid Hostage Situation
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting on Sunday with the heads of law enforcement agencies amid the hostage situation in the country’s capital, the press service of the Armenian leader said.
YEREVAN (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, an armed group took six police officers hostage at a patrol police station in the capital’s district of Erebuni, killing one officer and injuring three. The hostage takers are demanding the release of Jirair Sefilian, an opposition politician and the founder of the New Armenia Public Salvation Front. Sefilian, who took part in the 1988-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, is accused of the illegal acquisition and possession of arms.
“The meeting participants reported to the President about the situation following an armed incident that took place this morning, and on the details of measures taken by the law enforcement agencies,” the press service said in a statement.
The press service added that “law enforcement officials are fully in control of the situation and are taking all the necessary measures to reach the solution.”
“They have six hostages, all of them are the members of the police. They [members of the group] are armed, and we have once again called on them to refrain from any provocations, crimes, murder and bloodshed,” deputy chief of the Armenian Police Hunan Poghosyan told reporters.
He added that the hostage takers’ demands have not change — they are demanding the release of Jirair Sefilian, an opposition politician and the founder of the New Armenia Public Salvation Front. Sefilian, who took part in the 1988-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, is accused of the illegal acquisition and possession of arms. According to Poghosyan, the police have refused to answer the demand.
Earlier, Armenian member of parliament Nikol Pashinyan told local media that seven police officers remained in the police building after one was allowed to leave due to health problems. The hostage takers told Pashinyan that they also demand the resignation of the country’s president Serzh Sargsyan.
Informed sources told Sputnik that the killed police officer has been identified as Col. Artur Vanoyan. Three more were injured, they have been identified as Col. Aram Ovannisyan, Lt. Col. Grach Hotegyan, Subaltern Gagik Mkrtchyan.
Yerevan Update: Gunmen seize police HQ in Yerevan: 1 killed, 3 wounded
A group of armed people on Sunday, July 17 stormed the patrol service of the Armenian police and took everyone inside hostage. The group are members of the Sasna Tsrer movement. One police officer was killed, and three more were wounded.
5:30 pm: President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with representatives of the law enforcement system. The attendees briefed the President on the situation following the incident that happened in Yerevan early in the morning, as well as the measures taken by the law enforcement bodies. The latter, according to the presidential press service, continue controlling the situation and taking corresponding steps to reach a settlement of the issue.
4:45 pm: One of the members of the group said negotiations are still underway with the law enforcement authorities.
According to Pavel Manukyan, the National Security Service has offered to take the gunmen to Jirayr Sefilyan but they have refused and demand instead that Sefilian be released.
Also, Manukyan said they have required journalists but the police have refused to fulfill their demand. He said two of their gunmen were wounded during the shootout.In response to a question on whether they are going to release the hostages, Manukyan gave a negative response. Asked if they are sorry for the officer killed in the shootout, the gunman said: “We are sorry for everything.”Commenting on a possible attack which could endanger the lives of the hostages, Manukyan said: “Everything is possible.”
3:45 pm: Deputy Police Chief of Armenia Hunan Pohosyan told reporters that negotiations are still underway with the gunmen.
The gunmen have one demand, i.e. the release of Jirair Sefilian, which, according to Poghosyan, is impossible.
A police colonel, Artur Vanoyan was killed, while colonel Aram Hovhannisyan, lieutenant colonel Hrach Khosteghdyan and sub-officer Gagik Mkrtchyan were wounded.
2:20 pm: MP Nikol Pashinyan said he knows nothing about the police’s plans, but said the group members are determined and don’t intend to retreat in the event of an attack. Also, the MP said he is going to meet with Jirair Sefilian at the detention facility he is currently being kept in.
1:55 pm: One of the wounded police officers was admitted to Muratsan military hospital. He was wounded in the abdomen and has already undergone surgery.
1:45 pm: Several people, including activist Vardges Gaspari were detained at the Freedom Square near Yerevan’s Opera House. The gunmen earlier called on the public to gather at the square “for planning the next steps.”
1:30 pm: The NSS said a police officer was killed and two more were wounded in the hostage situation. Two of the hostages were set free following the National Security Service’s operative measures, the NSS said in a statement.
12:56 pm: Local residents told a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent that the operation began at around 5:30 am. A powerful explosion was first heard (probably the truck hitting the gates – editor’s note), followed by gunshot fire.
12:38 pm:Commander of the Internal Troops Levon Yeranosyan, Deputy Police Chief Hunan Poghosyan have arrived at the scene. Poghosyan urged the public to go home for their own security.
12:20 pm: MP Nikol Pashinyan who just left the police premises told reporters that the group demand resignation of [President] Serzh Sargsyan and transfer of power to the people. The armed group currenyly holds 7 people hostage. There were initially 8 hostages but one of them was hospitalized following a fluctuation of blood pressure. The incident took place early in the morning when the members of the group hit the gates of the department with a Ural truck. According to Pashinyan, one of the members has received a gunshot or shrapnel injury in the head
11:41 am: Police cars and armored vehicles have blocked the road taking to the Erebuni police department. Journalists are barred from entering the area or reporting on the inicident, RFE/RL Armenian Service says.
Head of the press service of the Armenian police Ashot Aharonyan said they will soon issue a statement.
11:15 am: The NSS reports that state authorities continue their normal operation, while law enforcement authorities are properly carrying out public safety functions.
Negotiations are currently underway with the armed militants for them to peacefully surrender to the Armenian authorities, the NSS said.
As the press service of the National Security Service (NSS) reports, their supporters use news outlets and social media platforms “to spread disinformation about starting an armed uprising, capturing buildings and premises.”
Armenia’s NSS declared that the information does not correspond to reality.
10:35: Founding Parliament member Varuzhan Avetisyan, who also from “Sasna Tsrer,” said that those seizing the building are members of the initiative too. They demand that founder of the movement Jirair Sefilian who was arrested several weeks ago, be set free.
He said that the police used an armed vehicle to attack those seizing the building, a retaliatory fire broke, injuring several people.
In an interview with Armtimes.am, Avetisyan said earlier that after Sefilian joins them from jail, they will proceed to the next stage of their demand, i.e. resignation of [President] Serzh Sargsyan and transfer of power to the people. Sefilian is the one to conduct negotiations, he said. He also added that they have Deputy Chief of Yerevan Police Valery Osipyan and deputy chief of police Vardan Yeghiazaryan.
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