Armenian Police Arrest 244 Protesters as Opposition Blocking Streets in Yerevan - Videos

On Sunday, the Armenian opposition launched a mass protest in Yerevan calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and a change of government policy on the question about Nagorno-Karabakh.

Police have started arresting protesters in Yerevan, Armenia who are blocking the city's central streets in a massive opposition protest demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. According to the police press service, 244 people have been detained so far.

The large-scale civil disobedience was announced on Sunday by the Armenian opposition, and began on Monday morning, with streets and highways blocked. Traffic in the centre of Armenia's capital is already paralysed.

One of the main squares in Yerevan was inundated by protesters and the opposition last night after a huge rally. The demonstrators set up tents on France Square and spent the night there before the planned civil disobedience.

Since 25 April, the Armenian opposition have been holding protests throughout Armenia, as it believes the policies of Pashinyan's government "are destructive for Armenia and the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and threaten the Armenian side not only with new concessions but also with the loss of statehood." The present crisis began in 2020 when the decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated in Nagorno-Karabakh and led to a 44-day war, leaving thousands dead on both sides.

A trilateral ceasefire declaration mediated by Russia in November 2020 saw the Armenian side lose territories to Azerbaijan. Under the agreement, the sides agreed to Russian peacekeepers being deployed to the region. Later, Yerevan and Baku started working on a peace agreement. This caused a political crisis in Armenia, where many view the ceasefire as a defeat in the prolonged conflict, and blame Prime Minister Pashinyan for the heavy losses.