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Armed group in Yerevan sets bus on fire at seized police station

Police said that on Sunday evening the gunmen had torched a Gazel police van

© Varo Rafayelyan/PAN Photo via AP

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Opposition forces gathering for rally in Yerevan

YEREVAN, July 25. /TASS/. An armed group that had seized a police station in Yerevan set on fire a Chevrolet police bus on Monday evening, law enforcement said.

"The law enforcement agencies are again calling on the group members not to take any steps that pose a risk to citizens’ lives and health and that stir up tensions," they said.

Police said that on Sunday evening the gunmen had torched a Gazel police van. Besides, the gunmen "took a tire outside, stuffed it with cartridges and also set on fire," which resulted in "a serious danger to residents of nearby houses."

Since last Wednesday, a group of gunmen has had a police regiment in the capital of Yerevan under their control. During the assault on the police unit, deputy commander of the regiment Colonel Artur Vanoyan was killed and several police officers sustained wounds. Some of the police chiefs were taken hostage and released only on Saturday.

For several days, radical opposition members have been rallying near the police station, demanding that the authorities refrain from carrying out a military operation to free the hostages and neutralize the armed group.

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