Member of parliament stabbed trying to stop attack

Armen Martirosyan, of the Heritage party, was knifed in the leg, but the cut missed main arteries, the party spokesman told ArmeniaNow. The lawmaker was hospitalized and underwent surgery and his wound is not life-threatening.

Parliament deputies from the Heritage party have been at the scene of a massive public protest in the area between the French Embassy and the Mayor’s Office providing mediation in a bid to keep people away from clashes with police.

Spokesman Hovsep Khurshudyan says his fellow party members had noticed a group of people who, they said, appeared not to belong to the peaceful protestors, going towards the mayor’s office police guards. Then, they say, the group started to brutally beat the security personnel at the mayor’s office.

In an effort to stop the violence, Martirosyan reportedly tried to stand in the middle to protect the policemen from the raging group.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed that two people have received fractures resulting from a police vehicle being driven into the crowd, however the ministry disavows an account saying that one woman was killed in the incident.

By ArmeniaNow