Yerevan Police Station Standoff (2016)
The Yerevan Police Station Standoff, which occurred in July 2016, involved an armed group known as the Daredevils of Sassoun, who seized a police station in Armenia's capital. The takeover began on July 17, when the group demanded the release of opposition leader Zhirair Sefilyan, who had been arrested earlier that month, and called for the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan. The standoff escalated over two weeks, resulting in the deaths of two police officers and injuries to both police and gunmen. Throughout the crisis, thousands of protesters rallied in support of the Daredevils, leading to violent clashes with law enforcement that resulted in numerous injuries.
The situation drew attention to broader discontent with the Armenian government, particularly regarding its handling of political dissent and issues surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Ultimately, the standoff concluded on July 31, 2016, when the armed group surrendered to police to prevent further casualties. In the aftermath, the Armenian government faced criticism for its response and took steps to address public dissatisfaction, including leadership changes. The Daredevils of Sassoun members were subsequently charged with hostage-taking and illegal weapons possession, while Sefilyan remained incarcerated.
Subject Terms
Yerevan Police Station Standoff (2016)
Date: July 17–31, 2016
Place: Yerevan, Armenia
Summary
For two weeks in July 2016, an armed group calling itself the Daredevils of Sassoun seized control of a police station in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan. The group took several hostages and demanded the release of Zhirair Sefilyan, the leader of a government opposition group, as well as the resignation of Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan. The standoff resulted in the deaths of two police officers and the wounding of a number of police and gunmen. As the crisis wore on, thousands of protestors took to the streets in support of the armed group, and dozens were injured in clashes with police. The standoff ended with the gunmen surrendering to police.
Key Events
- June 2016—Opposition leader Zhirair Sefilyan is arrested on suspicion of preparing to seize government buildings and telecommunication facilities.
- July 17, 2016—Supporters of Sefilyan calling themselves the Daredevils of Sassoun seize control of a police station in Yerevan, killing one officer and taking several others hostage, demanding the release of political prisoners and a change of government.
- July 30, 2016—A second police officer is killed, allegedly by sniper fire from inside the police station, a charge the gunmen deny.
- July 31, 2016—The attackers surrender to police.
Status
Even as nearly two dozen opposition leaders were arrested in the wake of the Yerevan crisis on suspicion of organizing a riot, the government sought to restore public faith by firing Yerevan police chief Ashot Karapetyan in response to police violence against protesters during the standoff. On September 8, President Sargsyan further acknowledged popular discontent with his government by replacing Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan with former Yerevan mayor Karen Karapetyan. Sefilyan, however, remained in prison. The captured Daredevils of Sassoun members face charges of hostage-taking and illegal weapons possession.
In-Depth Overview
On the morning of July 17, 2016, a group of thirty-one armed men belonging to the protest group the Daredevils of Sassoun (Sasna Tsrer in Armenian) seized control of a police station in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, by ramming a vehicle into the front of the building. During the course of the armed takeover, the men killed Artur Vanoyan, deputy police chief, and wounded three other officers. The gunmen took several police officers hostage and demanded the release of Zhirair Sefilyan (also spelled Jirair Sefilian), a Lebanese-born former Armenian military commander and leader of the opposition group Founding Parliament. Sefilyan had been imprisoned since June 2016, accused of preparing to seize government buildings and telecommunication facilities. The hostage-takers also demanded that President Serzh Sargsyan resign and that other political prisoners in Armenia be released.
Sefilyan and his supporters strongly criticized the president and how his government handled the conflict involving Armenian separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. That conflict, of which Sefilyan and the members of the Daredevils of Sassoun are all veterans, dates to the late 1980s, when Armenian separatists seized control of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Despite a cease-fire being signed in 1994, sporadic fighting has continued in the region. April 2016 brought four days of the most intense fighting in decades for the region, leading to the death of more than one hundred combatants. Sefilyan also frequently called for the dismantling of Sargsyan’s government because he believes the elections that brought him to power were flawed and his rule is against the will of the people.
Shortly after the police station takeover, security forces, including armored vehicles, surrounded the building. Several thousand people rallied in the street in support of the gunmen. On July 23, 2016, a large group of these protestors began moving toward the main government buildings and the presidential residence. Riot police blocked them, but demonstrators did manage to block traffic for two hours on busy Baghramyan Avenue into the early morning hours of July 24.
The standoff between Daredevils of Sassoun and security forces turned violent many times during the two-week incident. The armed group released all of the police hostages by July 20, 2016, when only twenty-four gunmen remained in the station. On July 22, three members of the group were wounded and taken out of the police station to be treated under armed guard. The following day, Armenian forces exchanged gunfire with the group, while thousands still protested outside the police station. A clash ensued with the protestors and police deployed smoke and sound bombs against them, leading to many protesters being wounded and taken away in ambulances. Police issued a deadline for the armed group to surrender. When that deadline passed, thousands of protestors again ventured out into the streets to show their support.
The standoff ended with the surrender of the Daredevils of Sassoun on July 31. In a telephone interview, Varuzhan Avetisyan, a leader of the group, said they decided to surrender after Armenian forces breached the police station using armored vehicles, and the group wanted to avoid further bloodshed. He further said that police had begun shooting members of the group that exited the building. Police were later criticized for using excessive force on protestors and for assaulting journalists.
Key Figures
Varuzhan Avetisyan: A leader of the Daredevils of Sassoun.
Pavlik Manukyan: A leader of the Daredevils of Sassoun.
Serzh Sargsyan: President of Armenia, elected 2008.
Zhirair Sefilyan: Leader of the opposition group Founding Parliament.
Bibliography
Armenia: Armed men seize Yerevan police station. (2016, July 17). Al Jazeera. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/armenia-armed-men-seize-yerevan-police-station-160717083111806.html
Armenia gunmen surrender after seizing police station. (2016, July 31). BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36937346
Armenia hostage standoff: Clashes erupt in Yerevan. (2016, July 30). Al Jazeera. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/armenia-hostages-police-protesters-clash-yerevan-160730034748569.html
Demourian, A. (2016, July 29). Armenia: Officers wound 3 more gunmen holding police station. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/armenia-officers-wound-3-more-gunmen-holding-police-station/2016/07/29/475d0608-55b0-11e6-b652-315ae5d4d4dd‗story.html
Demourian, A. (2016, July 31). Armenia: 20 gunmen surrender, police station standoff over. US News & World Report. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-07-31/armenia-barricaded-gunmen-deny-killing-police-officer
Karapetyan, A., & Aghekyan, E. (2016, August 2). Armed standoff in Armenia: Why it happened and what it could mean. Freedom House. Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/blog/armed-standoff-armenia-why-it-happened-and-what-it-could-mean