Epress.am News from Armenia
On Mar. 1, 2008, Iraqi authorities said that the number of Iraqis killed by violence rose in February for the first time in several months. At least 633 civilians died, according to data from several ministries — up from more than 460 deaths in January.
The increase was mainly due to two attacks in Baghdad and one near Karbala that killed at least 150 people.
In the early hours of the morning on Mar. 1, 2008, national police and military forces in Yerevan dispersed peaceful demonstrations that had been going on for 10 days non-stop in Liberty Square protesting the official results of the presidential election. Later that same day, people spontaneously gathered in the square in front of the Aleksandr Myasnikyan statue, across the street from Yerevan City Hall. In the evening, a state of emergency was declared and the army called in to quell the protests, who used “excessive force and violence” which resulted in the death of 10 people, including Tigran Abgaryan.
Till today, no arrests or charges have been made in connection with Abgaryan’s murder.