  Yerevan: Police brokering gunmen’s surrender, end of hostage situation July 18, 2016 - 13:53 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s Deputy Police Chief Hunan Poghosyan on Monday, July 18 said they are negotiating surrender and termination of the hostage situation in Yerevan. A group of armed people attacked and seized a police HQ in Yerevan, 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. Five 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. “The demands of both sides are unchanged, with Sefilian’s involvement in negotiations out of the agenda,” Poghosyan said. “The number of captives currently stands at 5. Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan is not participating in negotiations, he is monitoring the overall situation.” As reported earlier, other hostages were released overnight, with two others having been released on Sunday. Read also:Gunmen seize police HQ in Yerevan: 1 killed, 4 wounded   Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18.   Partner news |  Latest news Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan  A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia.U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel.Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. |
