Yerevan, July 18, 2016 (AFP) – An armed group linked to an Armenian opponent was still cut off on Monday with five hostages in a police building in Yerevan while dozens of activists of the Armenian opposition were questioned by police the night.
Opponents “were all released after being questioned,” assured a police spokesman told AFP nearly 24 hours after the start of the hostage.
The security services have announced that two hostages had been released the night after several hours of negotiations, five others are still being held.
Sunday morning, a group of armed men linked to an opponent imprisoned Jirair Sefilian, had stormed a police building in Yerevan, killing a policeman, taking several hostages and demanding the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan.
“The security forces are doing their utmost to enable a peaceful resolution of the situation”, said the security services of the South Caucasus countries in a statement.
Two high-ranking officers, the deputy chief of the National Police Vardan Eguiazarian and deputy police chief of Yerevan Valeri Ossipian are among the hostages.
The attackers also demanding the release of the politician of the opposition, Jirair Sefilian, arrested in June for possession of weapons and accused of wanting to occupy government buildings and telecommunication centers in Yerevan.
A fierce critic of the government, he was previously arrested in 2006 and jailed for 18 months after being called to “overthrow the government by violence.”
He was also briefly arrested for coup attempt in 2015 before being released.
Former military, President Sargsyan was elected in 2008 and his election contested by the opposition, had caused riots that killed 10 people.
Ara © armenews.com