The Law Enforcement has Necessary Means to Neutralize the Armed Group in Yerevan: Deputy Head of Police of Armenia

Armenian police and law enforcement system have necessary means to neutralize the group that has taken hostages in the building of the Patrol Police in Yerevan, the Deputy head of the Armenian Police Hunan Poghosyan told the journalists.

“All indispensible preventive and investigative steps have been undertaken. If our calls are not heard, we have the capacity to neutralize them,” Poghosyan said, as 168.am reports. He also noted that during the attack Armenian police colonel Artur Vanyan was killed, colonel Aram Hovhannisyan, vice-colonel Hrach Khosteghyan and junior officer Gagik Mkrtchyan were wounded. “At this moment we conduct negotiations. The police and the law enforcement bodies call on them to stop the illegal actions and surrender to the authorities,” Poghosyan said. He went on saying that the attackers have voiced only one demand: to release Jirair Sefilian. They have 7 hostages. There are no injured among the attckers. An armed group has entered the building of the patrol police department in Yerevan and keeps people there with the threat of violence.

The official statement of the National Security Service of Armenia runs as follows “A group of armed people have taken hostage a small group of policemen and in order to release them they demand the release of Jirair Sefilian who was imprisoned with the charges of illegally obtaining, keeping, transporting weaponry. A policeman has been killed, two have been wounded. In order to stop and disrupt the criminal actions of the armed group that illegally holds the area, the Special Forces have released two hostages. Armenian law enforcement bodies fully control the situation and have undertaken all necessary means to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, the National Security Service calls on the mass media to use the information from official sources, as in case of the contrary that wo uld assist the illegal actions and would pose threat for people’s life and health.”