YEREVAN, Armenia – Security forces on Friday wounded three more of the armed members of an opposition group who have been barricaded inside a police station in the Armenian capital for nearly two weeks, and riot police later used stun grenades to break up a demonstration in support of the opposition gunmen.
The three gunmen were wounded in an exchange of gunfire with security forces, police spokesman Ashot Agaronyan said on Facebook.
A high-ranking police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information, said the gunmen were hit in the legs by snipers after emerging from the station.
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A group of about 30 gunmen seized the police post in Yerevan on July 17, killing one officer and wounding several others in the attack, to demand freedom for an opposition figure arrested in June.
Besides the three gunmen wounded Friday, five others were wounded in previous exchanges of fire with police. Six were hospitalized and two remained inside the police station, where they were receiving treatment from three members of an ambulance crew who were being held hostage.
The standoff has set off a series of anti-government demonstrations, held nearly daily in the evening.
More than 4,000 protesters gathered in a central square on Friday evening and several hundred of them later set off for the area around the besieged police station.
Riot police set off stun grenades to disperse the protesters and clashes broke out.
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