Opposition group seizes police station in Armenia, takes hostages

An armed opposition group seized a police station and held seven police officials hostage on Sunday in the Armenian capital city of Yerevan to back their political demand, the country's National Security Service said.

The group demanded the release of Jirair Sefilyan, an opposition leader who was arrested in June for allegedly organising a criminal group, Xinhua news agency reported.

The group declared through the media that they had launched an "uprising", and demanded the resignation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

However, the security service refuted the claims of an uprising as "false rumours", saying the Armenian government was working in a normal state.

Negotiations were underway with the armed group in order to resolve the situation in a peaceful manner, the security service said.