Chaos in Armenia: Protesters block railways, roads to Yerevan International Airport

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Anti-government protesters disrupted traffic in Armenia’s capital, blocking railways and roads leading to Yerevan International Airport, after the parliament voted against opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan’s bid for interim PM.

Protesters managed to block streets connecting downtown Yerevan to residential districts, disrupting transportation in Armenia’s capital, footage from the scene shows. Yerevan’s metro system has also been paralyzed as demonstrators sit on the tracks, preventing trains from passing.

Meanwhile, protesters disrupted traffic on a road leading to Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport, located just 12km from the center of the city. Consequently, some passengers had to go the rest of the way on foot in order to catch their flights, according to Sputnik news agency.

Railway services have also been disrupted all across the country amid the demonstrations, a spokesman for South Caucasus Railways confirmed to Interfax. Some other highways, including the one connecting the country to neighboring Georgia, were also reportedly blocked by the opposition.

In Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city, the protests escalated into a takeover of government buildings. Demonstrators broke into the mayor’s office, demanding that he join the opposition movement. Levon Barsegyan, one of the protest leaders, said the opposition was in control of most government premises in the city, TASS reports.

The protests renewed after Armenian protest leader Nikol Pashinyan failed to obtain the position of prime minister on Tuesday, and called for a nationwide strike for Wednesday morning – urging supporters to blockade roads, railways and the airport. Following heated debate in parliament, the 42-year-old opposition candidate received only 45 of the 53 votes needed to secure a majority in the 105-seat chamber.

Massive opposition rallies continued to grip the Armenian capital despite Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, who was president for several consecutive years, giving in to protesters’ demands and stepping down last Monday.

The acting prime minister, Karen Karapetyan, has called on all political forces to come to the table and resolve the crisis in a “civilized” way, urging them to show “will, determination and flexibility” and stressing that “the prime minister could only be elected by the parliament in accordance with the constitution.”

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Chief Assignment editor is Oleg Siziakov

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