Yerevan standoff: Leader of armed group goes on hunger strikeJuly 28, 2016 - 15:13 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The leader of the armed group that seized a police headquarters in Yerevan a little under two weeks ago, Pavel Manukyan, went on a hunger strike on Wednesday, July 27, his lawyer, Inesa Petrosyan said, according to Sputnik Armenia. The group are members of the Sasna Tsrer movement. One police officer was killed, and several more were wounded in a shootout that broke as the members of the group hit the gates of the police department with a track. All the captives have been set free. 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 allegedly planned to seize premises and communication facilities, including the Yerevan TV tower. They also demand the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan and the creation of a transitional government. According to Petrosyan, Manukyan’s condition is still assessed as serious. Manukyan and his son, Aram, were wounded in a shootout with the police on Tuesday, and were immediately hospitalized. Following these events, the gunmen took four paramedics hostage as the latter were trying to help the injured members of the group inside the seized police HQ. One of the doctors was released on Wednesday evening. Related links: Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. 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. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. U.S. believes peace is “possible” in South Caucasus The United States continues to believe that peace is possible in the South Caucasus, Vedant Patel said. |