Armenia honors Nagorno-Karabakh dead, anti-PM demo

Both opponents and supporters of Armenia's prime minister rallied Saturday as the nation paid tribute to the thousands who died in fighting with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Thousands of protesters rallied near the Yerablur military memorial cemetery on the outskirts of the Armenian capital of Yerevan as Nikol Pashinyan visited it to honor the soldiers killed in the latest fighting.

Joined by crowds, he marched towards Yerablur military memorial cemetery in Yerevan to honour those who lost their lives. Critics, who are demanding that the leader resign, tried to pelt him with eggs. Police attempted to disperse them and his security guards covered him with shields.

Later in the day, about 20,000 opposition supporters marched across Yerevan for a memorial church service for the victims of the conflict. The Azerbaijani army pushed deep into Nagorno-Karabakh in six weeks of hostilities that ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal on Nov. 10.

Azerbaijan reclaimed large parts of the separatist region and surrounding territories. The loss of lands that had been controlled by ethnic Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century has sparked weeks of protests demanding the resignation of Pashinyan. In 44 days of fighting that began in late September and left more than 5,600 people killed on both sides.