YEVERAN, July 18. /TASS/. Armed terrorists who seized a patrol and inspection police regiment in Terevan have released one more hostage, a spokesman for Armenia’s National Security Service told TASS on Monday.
"As a result of comprehensive measures taken by the republic’s law enforcement agencies, including negotiations, one more hostage has been released," the spokesman said.
"Nevertheless, such encouraging episodes, do not rule out possible tragic developments and the organizers of the attack will be held responsible for them," the spokesman stressed.
"Terrorists must be aware that they have on other option than to fulfill of the demands of the authorities the soonest possible," the spokesman said. "Armenia’s law enforcement agencies still hope that the members of the armed group will be guided by common sense in decision-making."
Armenian Police First Deputy Chief, Lieutenant-General Unan Pogosyan said earlier that "the police’s demands remain the same: to release all hostages, halt the standoff and destabilization and surrender to the authorities."
"The situation remains the same: the negotiations are continuing and an officer as a contact person is negotiating with a representative of the armed group," Pogosyan said.
The general also said that "the police, other law-enforcement bodies are continuing search and operational and preventive work." During the night, the armed group released two hostages - a policeman and the driver of an ambulance, the general said.
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"The police and the entire law-enforcement system of Armenia are able to take all necessary measures permitted by law" to release the hostages, the general said.
"All legal grounds exist for such measures," Pogosyan said.
A group of about 30 armed supporters of the radical opposition broke into the territory of a patrol and inspection police regiment in Yerevan, Armenia, in the small hours on July 17 having rammed its gates in a truck. As a result of the shootout, the regiment’s deputy commander was killed and there are persons wounded from both sides. The armed persons took hostage both the patrol and inspection police personnel and police officials who had arrived at the scene for negotiations, in particular, Armenian Deputy Police Chief Major-General Vartan Yegiazaryan and Deputy Head of the Yerevan Police Department Colonel Valery Osipyan who had approached the assailants for talks.