Yerevan standoff: Police clash with protesters near seized compound (photos)

Riot police clashed with protesters outside the seized patrol police regiment on Friday night, leaving scores of people, including journalists, injured.

Several protesters backing the armed opposition group, which stormed into the compound last Sunday, were arrested.

The crowd headed to the Khorenatsi street (leading to the regiment) after a rally in Liberty Square. The public event was attended also by politicians and prominent public and political figures, including the opposition Heritage party's deputy leader, Armen Martirosyan, and a former presidential contender, Adndrias Ghukasyan.

A total of 60 people have been hospitalized with different bodily injuries.

“The police used special means to disperse those attempting to break through the security zone. Clashes erupted, leaving unfortunately also media representatives injured. There are reports also on damaged equipment,” Ashot Aharonyan, a spokesperson for the Armenian Police, says in a post on Facebook.

The group, calling itself Sasna Tsrer (Daredevils of Sassoun), makes demands for a government change in Armenia and the release of all the political prisoners, including Zhirayr Sefilyan, a veteran of the Nagorno-Karabakh war and an opposition activist who was detained in June over attempts to plot a civil unrest.