Gunmen storm police station, take hostages in attempted coup (photos)

A group of armed men has took control over a police station in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, on Sunday, July 17. The attack has been viewed as part of the planned coup against the government.

– Gunmen have stormed police headquarters and taken the chief of police hostage in Armenia
– The group call on citizens to take to the streets to demand the release of jailed opposition politicians
– The incident is believed to be an attempted coup, one person is reported to have been killed in the fighting

They also urged Armenians to take to the streets to support regime change. In a recently released video they said: “Dear friends, citizens, Armenian nation, it has begun, we are doing this for you… Go out to the streets!”

There are reports that a policeman had been killed and two wounded in the Yerevan attack. Local media report about undergoing negotiations with the group to resolve the standoff peacefully.

Policemen block a street after a group of armed men seized a police station along with an unknown number of hostages, according the country’s security service, in Yerevan, Armenia, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Melik Baghdasaryan/Photo Lure

Armenia’s National Security Service issued a statement accusing the group’s supporters of “spreading misinformation on mass media and social networks about an armed rebellion and about buildings being taken over… the information is not correct.”

“This and any other illegal activity will be curbed by the law enforcement agencies and their perpetrators will be neutralised and punished by law,” it added.

The seige comes days after a failed coup in neighbouring Turkey by a faction of Turkish military, in which 265 people were killed and about 1,500 injured.