Thousands protest in Armenia, demanding PM's resignation

The protests came after the government's perceived failure to support Armenian separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a breakaway region in Azerbaijan that has been under the control of Armenian separatists since the early 1990s. In 2020, Azerbaijan launched a major offensive to retake control of the region, and the Armenian forces were defeated.

Under a ceasefire agreement signed in November 2020, Azerbaijan regained control of much of Nagorno-Karabakh, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed to monitor the ceasefire. However, there have been repeated clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in the region since then.

The protesters in Yerevan accuse Pashinyan of capitulating to Azerbaijan and betraying the Armenian people. They also say that he has failed to do enough to support the Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pashinyan has defended his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying that he had to sign the ceasefire agreement to prevent further casualties. He has also said that he is committed to supporting the Armenian people in Nagorno-Karabakh.

However, the protests in Yerevan are a sign of the growing public anger with Pashinyan's handling of the conflict. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to hold on to power in the face of this mounting pressure. (ILKHA)