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One of armed group members explains how Colonel Artur Vanoyan died (video)

Politics
arayik

Arayik Khandoyan, one of the opposition gunmen occupying a police station in Yerevan since July 17, speaks about the circumstances of the death of Colonel Artur Vanoyan during the seizure of the police compound in Yerevan’s Erebuni district. “We do not know the circumstances of the death. I can only say that he shot until he had no bullets left. We were all shouting, ‘Do not shoot at us, brothers, we are not shooting.’ We do not know exactly, their friends may have shot at each in panic, we did not shot at anyone. Now they blame it [the death] on our wounded friend but it was not him,” Khandoyan, also known as Lone Wolf, said. On July 17, the police headquarters was attacked and seized by an armed group calling itself Sasna Dzrer (Daredevils of Sasun) which is affiliated with the Founding Parliament, a radical opposition group seeking to oust Armenia’s government. Artur Vanoyan and his friends were on duty inside the Erebuni base when it was stormed by the gunmen. Vanoyan was shot dead and several other police seriously wounded in the attack. The attackers took several police officers hostage, including deputy chiefs of the national police and Yerevan’s police department. The last four hostages were set free on Saturday, July 23, after negotiations held with the Armenian government through Vitaly Balasanyan, a participant of the Artsakh war.