Situation escalated in Baghramyan Avenue, brawl ensues with police forces

Opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan and his crowd of supporters escalated the situation in Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan.

Pashinyan led his followers from France Square to the beginning of the Baghramyan Avenue, mentioning he “wants to go the parliament, his working place”.

Along with other opposition MPs from the Yelk faction, Pashinyan intended to breach the police line. Deputy chief of the Yerevan Police Department Valery Osipyan negotiated with the MPs and agreed to allow the opposition lawmakers to head to the parliament.

However, Pashinyan began shouting that he will not go alone and that his supporters must also go through the lines. Despite numerous calls from the police to maintain order, Pashinyan climbed onto the steel barricade, which led to a chaotic situation.

The crowd began lifting the barricades and using them against officers. A brawl began between protesters and police officers. At one point the MP and his supporters even climbed on a vehicle. The situation drastically escalated.

Police forces installed a barbed wire across the street. Opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan and a crowd of supporters have blocked several busy streets of Yerevan from the morning of April 16. Police released a warning saying that such actions can endanger public safety and law enforcement agencies are entitled to use appropriate measures if necessary.