Dozens blocked inside Bulgarian parliament, report says

PanARMENIAN.Net - Dozens of people, including parliamentarians, ministers and reporters, have been blocked inside the Bulgarian parliament building by a crowd of anti-government protesters, RIA Novosti reported citing local media.

According to Bulgarian news website Novinite.com, some 109 people were trapped inside the building. Some of them managed to escape later under police escort, Sofia Globe reported.

Protesters clashed with police in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Tuesday, July 23 which was the 40th day of rallies against government corruption.

Demonstrators surrounded the building and shouted "Mafia!" and "Resign!" They did not allow a bus to leave with MPs on board. But Sofia Globe said that early on Wednesday, police in riot gear briefly broke the blockade around the parliament, and that some MPs were then escorted from the scene individually.

A few protesters and a police officer have reportedly been injured, according to the BBC.

Thousands of people have been protesting on the streets of the capital and other cities nearly daily in Bulgaria after a controversial media mogul, Delyan Peevski, was appointed head of the country’s national security agency.

Protests continued despite the appointment’s subsequent withdrawal.