Gunmen in Yerevan release doctor, still hold three paramedics captive

PanARMENIAN.Net - Davit Tonoyan, one of the members of the medical staff taken hostage by an armed group in a seized police department in Yerevan, was released on Wednesday, July 27 evening, health ministry spokeswoman Anahit Haytayan said in a Facebook post.

The group are members of the Sasna Tsrer movement. One police officer was killed, and several more were wounded in a shootout that broke as the members of the group hit the gates of the police department with a track. All the captives have been set free. The group demand the release of Jirair Sefilian, the founder of the Founding Parliament who was arrested on June 20, as he and a group of people had allegedly planned to seize premises and communication facilities, including the Yerevan TV tower. They also demand the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan and the creation of a transitional government.

Earlier on Wednesday, the members of the armed group took several doctors hostage and agreed to release them in exchange for the Health Minister and as soon as surgeries are organized on the territory of the seized patrol unit.

However, the police banned Minister Armen Muradyan from entering the territory of the seized police headquarters in Yerevan "so that the number of captives doesn’t grow."