YEREVAN (Combined Sources) — Pro-opposition gunmen are holding four police hostage in the Armenian capital Yerevan, officials said Tuesday, July 19, two days after they seized a police building, killing one officer and taking several hostages.
The gunmen seized the police station and hostages on Sunday, killing a police officer and wounding two others in the process before demanding Armenians take to the streets to secure the release of jailed opposition politicians.
They released two hostages on Sunday and three more on Monday, the security service said. Negotiations to end the situation peacefully were under way.
“Talks are underway with the hostage-takers. We are doing our best to resolve the situation without bloodshed,” Armenia’s first deputy police chief Hunan Pogosyan told AFP.
Lines of police in flak jackets and helmets gathered outside the building Tuesday as parked trucks blocked off surrounding streets, an AFP photographer said.
The gunmen, who captured a large arsenal of police weapons, have so far refused to surrender.