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Armenian police detain over 130 protesters amid clashes over hostage taking

Thursday, 21 July 2016 1:11 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 July 2016 1:11 PM ]

A woman gestures in front of Armenian riot police blocking the streets to Erebuni police station, where gunmen are holding hostages, in Yerevan late on July 20, 2016. (AFP photo)

Armenian police have detained more than 130 people as hundreds of demonstrators gathered to support gunmen holding several hostages in a police station in the capital, Yerevan.

The police said on Thursday that they made 136 arrests near Erebuni police station where armed men have been holding hostages for four days and protesters erected barricades on a nearby avenue.

This came as riot police moved in late Wednesday night to clear out the protest camp.

The police detonated smoke grenades and fired tear gas after protesters began throwing stones at them.

According to Armenian media reports, more than 50 people sought medical treatment in Yerevan hospitals after the clashes. Armenia’s Health Ministry said Thursday morning that 51 people have been hospitalized, 28 of whom were police.

A man jumps off a dumpster as Armenian opposition supporters clash with riot police blocking the streets to Erebuni police station, where gunmen are holding hostages, in Yerevan on July 19, 2016. (AFP photo)

The police station was seized on Sunday by a group of gunmen seeking the release of opposition figure and former military commander Jirair Sefilian who was detained in June.

Authorities in the ex-Soviet republic have accused the detained opposition leader of plotting civil unrest.

The opposition leader has accused Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan of mishandling a long-running conflict between pro-Armenian forces and Azerbaijan over the disputed Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Karabakh region, which is located in the Azerbaijan Republic but is populated by Armenians, has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian militia and the Armenian troops since a six-year war which claimed over 30,000 lives and ended in 1994.

At least 110 people died in days of clashes between forces supported by Azerbaijan and Armenia in April amid tensions over the disputed territory.

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