Of the 31 armed members of a radical opposition group who seized the Yerevan police compound on July 17, about 20 remained inside Sunday.
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A group of twenty gunmen inside a police station in the Armenian capital of Yerevan have surrendered to authorities, ending a tense, two-week standoff that left two police officers dead and several people wounded.
The leader of the gunmen barricaded inside the police compound, Varuzhan Avetisyan, said in a telephone interview with local media that they made a decision to surrender after security forces used armored vehicles to enter the police compound. “20 terrorists were detained; the territory of the police precinct was freed from terrorists”, an NSS statement said. They later seized four members of an ambulance crew, but the last two were allowed to leave on Saturday.
Sasna Tsrer also demand the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan and the creation of a transitional government.
On Saturday, police said one of their officers had been shot dead by the Daredevils while sitting in a patrol vehicle several hundred metres from the besieged police station; a leader of the gang denied that his men were responsible, however. “We feel that our victory is close and call on Armenian people to continue the fight”, he said. However, the group has denied any involvement with the shooting.
The gunmen had held four police officers hostage for a week before releasing them unharmed.
The crisis also brought thousands of pro-opposition demonstrators to the streets, calling for President Sarkisian to step down. Police issued an ultimatum to the group to surrender following violent scenes late on Friday when police with truncheons and stun grenades clashed with protesters.
The rescue service said it collected 25 migrants before dawn from one boat, followed hours later by the rescue of 19 others from a second craft, and then a third operation reached a boat bearing 30 more migrants.
The United States and the European Union both voiced concern over the unrest.
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The gunmen are demanding freedom for the leader of the group, who was arrested in June.
