One Killed, 2 Injured in Takeover of Armenia Police Station

Armenian authorities have said a police officer has died and two others have been killed as a group of armed men have stormed a police station in the capital Yerevan, taking hostages.

The men have been demanding the release of a number of people, including opposition leader Jirair Sefilian and the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan.

They have also called on citizens to take to the streets and show support for their demands.

Armenia's National Security Agency says law enforcement officers are "fully in control of the situation," according to TASS news agency. Yerevan authorities are consistently denying the development is part of a coup or uprising, contrary to some reports emerging in the aftermath of the recent coup attempt in Turkey.

Russian media report as many as 8 people have been taken hostage. Valery Osipyan, the chief of Yerevan Police, is thought to be among them.

Sefilian was arrested in June, with the prosecution alleging him of taking part in an organized criminal gang.

He is known as a critic of President Sargsyan and his plans for a shift to parliamentary rule in Armenia, but also of his handling of recently renewed tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

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