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         Armenian Protesters Clash With Riot Police Amid Hostage Crisis

   by VOA News

   A tense standoff between riot police and armed supporters of an
   imprisoned politician continued Saturday in the Armenian capital,
   Yerevan.

   Three gunmen, who have barricaded themselves inside a police station
   for about two weeks, were wounded Friday in an exchange of gunfire with
   police.

   Authorities said that the gunmen shot first and the wounded inside the
   station were being treated by three members of an ambulance crew who
   were being held hostage.

   Riot police used truncheons, stun grenades and tear gas to stop a crowd
   that was approaching the police station. One-hundred-sixty-five people
   were detained during the unrest. More than 20 opposition supporters
   were later arrested. The rest were released.

   The standoff has set off a series of anti-government demonstrations,
   held almost every evening.

   A group of nearly 30 gunmen seized the police station on July 17,
   killing a police officer, wounding two others and taking nine officers
   hostage.

   The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said in a statement that it was "deeply
   troubled by the ongoing hostage situation."

   Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland urged both sides
   to "put an end to this dangerous situation without delay."

   The gunmen have demanded the release of jailed opposition politician
   Jirair Sefilian, accused of plotting civil unrest to force resignation
   of President Serzh Sargsyan.

   A former military commander, Sefilian has accused Sargsyan of
   mishandling the long-running conflict between Armenian-backed
   separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and Azeri
   forces.

   A Moscow-brokered cease-fire halted four days of violence in the region
   in April, the worst confrontation in years, but sporadic shooting has
   continued and some deaths have been reported.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/armenia-clashes/3441235.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/armenia-clashes/3441235.html