The US strongly condemns the use of violence to effect political change in Armenia, and encourages Armenian authorities to handle the situation with appropriate restraint.

Mark Toner, Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, noted the aforesaid at Tuesday’s press briefing, as he commented on the seizure of a police station in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan.

In his words, Washington believes that the use of force to solve political problems is unacceptable, and that changes should be made in a democratic way.

A group of armed men stormed into a Yerevan police regiment, on early morning on July 17, and took several police officers hostage. Deputy regiment commander Artur Vanoyan was killed, and four other police officers plus one of the attackers were wounded during the ensuing gunfire exchange. 

Negotiations are still underway to release all hostages and end the armed resistance.

The gunmen demand the release of Jirair Sefilian, an imprisoned radical opposition activist.

Several hours after the seizure of the police station, however, the law enforcement began detaining people. Numeous activists reported about the use of violence by police.