Thirteen Hospitalized After Clashes Between Protesters, Police In Armenia - Ministry

YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2019) Thirteen people were hospitalized in Armenia's northern city of Ijevan in the wake of clashes between protesters and the police late on Wednesday, Alina Nikoghosyan, the spokeswoman of the country's Health Ministry, has said.

On Wednesday, the hetq.am news outlet published the footage of the clashes. It also reported that the protesters blocked off a highway leading to Georgia, demanding the authorities to allow them harvest timber in the nearby forests. The security officers reportedly attempted to unblock the highway which led to the clashes. The protesters also began throwing stones on the police personnel making the officers back down.

"Thirteen people have been brought to the city medical center due to clashes in Ijevan.

Those injured are undergoing medical examination ... They are currently under doctors' supervision. The medics will soon release some of those wounded after [they undergo] the second examination," Nikoghosyan wrote on Facebook.

The spokeswoman noted that most of those injured sustained bruises.

Last week, the Armenian law enforcement said that police chief Valeriy Osipyan had instructed officers to keep watch around the clock at the forest and along the roads to see if local residents were illegally harvesting timber.

The police said that they were engaged in talks with the protesters to unblock the road.