The Armenian police have simulated an operation against armed assailants during an exercise held at a police compound in Yerevan that was seized by opposition gunmen in July.
The exercise held in the presence of national police chief, Vladimir Gasparian, on Wednesday involved gunfire and use of martial arts techniques by special police forces.
Under the scenario described by a police statement, they neutralized and arrested “armed criminals” inside the sprawling headquarters of a police regiment tasked with crowd control and street patrols. A short police video of the mock operation showed masked officers storming the compound located in Yerevan’s southern Erebuni district.
Around three dozen armed opposition members seized the police facility on July 17 to demand President Serzh Sarkisian’s resignation and the release of Zhirayr Sefilian, the jailed leader of their Founding Parliament movement. The Armenian authorities rejected these demands before forcing the gunmen to lay down arms two weeks later.
The standoff, which sparked demonstrations in Yerevan in support of the gunmen, left three police officers dead.
Gasparian paid tribute to the victims when he addressed police personnel during the drill. He also said: “I am grateful and sympathetic to your families for what they went through during those days.”
Armenia’s Special Investigative Service (SIS) said in October that a total of 62 people, including the 31 gunmen, have been charged in connection with the Erebuni attack. Forty-four of them are kept in pre-trial detention, while two others are on the run, according to the law-enforcement agency.
Two of the gunmen have been charged in the killings of the police Colonel Artur Vanoyan and Warrant Officers Gagik Mkrtchian and Yuri Tepanosian. They both deny the accusations.
Earlier this month, Yerevan’s municipal administration decided to provide Mkrtchian’s and Tepanosian’s families with free apartments. Mayor Taron Markarian said the decision was “suggested” by Sarkisian as he handed ownership certificates to the policemen’s widows at a ceremony held on Thursday.
“Your pain is certainly great and nothing can make up for the loss of your loved ones,” said Markarian. “In any case, I know that your families really needed these apartments.”
Both families have rented apartments until now. Mkrtchian had one and Tepanosian three young children.
Several senior law-enforcement officials were sacked in the wake of the Erebuni attack. They included Hrant Yepiskoposian, the first deputy director of Armenia’s National Security Service, and Ashot Karapetian, head of Yerevan’s police department.
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