Incident in Tsovagyugh: Villagers Attack Gazprom Employees and Police

A violent altercation reminiscent of a war film occurred in the Gegharkunik region on September 24. Over 40 villagers in Tsovagyugh attacked employees of 'Gazprom Armenia' with stones and sticks, assaulting the Gazprom staff and damaging their service vehicle. This was reported by shamshyan.com.

Police from the Sevan and Gavar divisions arrived at the scene; however, the village head Vahram Gevorgyan exacerbated the situation instead of calming the villagers. Under the village head's orders, the villagers turned their aggression towards the police. Several officers sustained injuries, including Gavar Police Chief Igor Mesropyan and Sevan Police Chief Saribek Rustamyan.

According to sources, the incident was triggered by information received by Gazprom regarding gas thefts that had been occurring in the village for many years. The police's Gegharkunik regional division is preparing materials on the case. The head of the Gegharkunik regional police, Arthur Mkrtchyan, also arrived at the scene.