Armenia opposition stages new protests against PM

Armenia opposition parties on Wednesday staged fresh protests in a bid to oust Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over his handling of a territorial dispute with arch-enemy Azerbaijan.

Thousands of opposition supporters have rallied in the capital Yerevan since Sunday, blocking streets in the city centre to force Pashinyan, 46, to resign.

Opposition leaders have accused him of plotting to hand over to Azerbaijan the long-contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh over which the Caucasus neighbours fought two wars, in 2020 and in the 1990s.

On Wednesday afternoon, several thousand opposition supporters rallied outside parliament, where Pashinyan was attending a plenary session. 

The building was cordoned off by hundreds of police in riot gear.

"The opposition hopes to achieve success by imitating what we have done," Pashinyan told lawmakers, referring to the mass street protests that ousted old elites and propelled him to power in 2018.

Pashinyan warned opposition parties against "crossing red lines."

Armenia's national security service said in a statement that the organisers of rallies "are planning to incite demonstrators to seize the parliament building, to destabilise the country and undermine its security and public order."

Opposition leader and parliament vice speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan said protesters would not be storming government buildings.

He said "protests will grow and last until Pashinyan steps down," adding that the opposition was planning to install an "interim government of technocrats" with no party affiliation.