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Armenia’s National Security Service has released a statement which reads that on July 29, from 21:00 to 23:00, the gunmen inside the patrol-guard service regiment of the RA Police fired from different weapons toward the police officers serving in Sari Tagh district, the residential houses of the abovementioned district as well as the law enforcement officers serving at the blocked area of Khorentasti Street.

According to the statement, the shooting came both from the two-storey building inside the police compound as well as from the checkpoint in the police regiment.

Apart from that, the NSS reports that the armed group detonated a grenade in the territory of the police regiment, tried to burn a bus parked in the vicinity of the checkpoint through throwing burning items.

The statement says all the aggressive actions of the gunmen were halted. According to preliminary data, both police officers and members of the armed group received gunshot wounds in the shootout.

“In the light of foregoing, the RA National Security Service states that drastic escalation of the situation through continuous terrorist actions by the members of the armed group, firing at the law enforcement officers, people outside of the blocked area, civilians among them, can in no way be tolerated,” reads the NSS statement, which also says that after events unfolded on late night of July 29 all reasonable opportunities to reach a peaceful settlement with the gunmen have run out.

NSS states that as envisaged by the RA legislation and justified by the emerged situation, the use of force appears to be an absolute necessity to protect the citizens, their life and heath, withstand the assault threatening the life and the health of the law enforcement officers, prevent the possession of their weapons, release the hostages, free the seized buildings as well as quash the resistance of the armed group.

With this respect, the NSS gives the gunmen deadline to surrender to the authorities by 17:00 today; otherwise special units of the law enforcement bodied are authorized to fire without warning and neutralize any armed person inside or outside the police regiment.

The NSS then warns over any attempt of an unauthorized entry into the blocked area that will be qualifies as complicity to terrorism with subsequent criminal liability.




NSS’s press release is accompanied by a video: