Armenia's opposition faces arrests as it contests the ruling party's election win

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Several members of Armenia's opposition were arrested Friday while a major pro-Russia party asked the top court to annul this month’s election win by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling party, alleging electoral violations and suppression of the opposition.

The opposition Strong Armenia party appealed to the Constitutional Court to invalidate election results or call a second round of voting, and denounced the arrests of opposition politicians as an assault on democracy. Several other opposition parties followed suit, similarly accusing the ruling party of forcing public sectors workers to vote for it and bribing other voters.

The Armenian authorities have denied any electoral violations and have accused the opposition of bribing voters.

The court is set to decide in two days whether to hear the case.

Final results of the June 7 vote released by the Central Election Commission showed Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party winning 49.7% of the ballot, allowing it to again form the government as it seeks to distance Armenia from Moscow and deepen ties with the West.

Observers have given the election mixed reviews. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Armenian voters were offered a “genuine choice” while also noting that the campaign was “highly confrontational” and marked by allegations of electoral violations that led to many criminal cases against opposition candidates, raising a perception of “selective justice.”

Strong Armenia is led by Armenian-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who made his fortune in Russia and has been under house arrest on charges of advocating for the government’s overthrow, accusations he has rejected as politically driven. Armenian investigators had issued six arrest warrants for members of Strong Armenia on the eve of polling day, accusing them of buying votes.

Several more opposition members were arrested Friday on similar charges of bribing voters.

Ruslan Barsegyan and Ashot Egiazaryan, who ran for parliament on Strong Armenia's ticket, were put in custody for two months pending an official probe, while Asatur Kocharyan of the opposition Armenia bloc was placed under house arrest.

A former lawmaker and critic of the government, Ruben Akopyan, also was arrested on Friday, while another opposition politician, David Kazinyan, was put behind bars on Thursday.

Strong Armenia denounced the arrests as an “attempt to completely destroy democracy in the country.”

“Investigative bodies, the prosecutor’s office, and the courts have been turned by this government into instruments for punishing and suppressing the opposition,” it said in a statement. ”We will not tolerate this and will fight to the end with the full force of the law and with determination.”

Mikayel Zolyan, an analyst and former lawmaker, described the arrests as part of the authorities' efforts to prevent attempts by the opposition to destabilize the situation in the country. "Pashinyan is showing pro-Russian forces that if they think they can manage to incite unrest and thereby achieve certain goals ... then they shouldn’t even try,” Zolyan said.

Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, has warned that Yerevan’s Western shift could have dire political and economic consequences. President Vladimir Putin has compared Armenia’s course to that of Ukraine in thinly veiled threats and suggested that Russia’s conflict with Ukraine was rooted in its bid to sign an association deal with the EU.

Moscow introduced a slew of trade sanctions in the weeks before the vote — imposing import bans on Armenian flowers, brandy, wine, fruits and more in a move described by the OSCE election monitors as “direct pressure” on Armenia’s vote. Russia said the bans were related to violations of agricultural import rules.

Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this report.

A man gestures speaking to demonstrators of opposition parties, in protest of the results of the parliamentary elections in Yerevan, Armenia, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)

A man wearing in t-shirt with an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin and words reading "Army of Russia" gestures speaking to demonstrators of opposition parties gathered in protest of the results of the parliamentary elections in Yerevan, Armenia, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)

Supporters of Armenia's ruling Civil Contract party leading by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hold up heart signs while gathering in Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia, Friday, June 5, 2026, for the party's final campaign rally ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan speaks at his Armenia Ruling Civil Contract party headquarters after parliamentary elections in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The gunfire and explosions that ripped through Niger’s main international airport are the latest sign of armed groups increasingly targeting cities and urban centers in Africa’s Sahel region, where they are competing for influence and territories, analysts say.

The al-Qaeda-linked JNIM jihadi group, the most potent in the Sahel region south of the Sahara desert, claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey that killed 11 soldiers and two civilians.

It was the second attack this year at the airport, a strategic hub that serves as the ruling military's command, hosting its air force base and most of its drones and aircraft. It's also the headquarters of the regional alliance that brings together troops from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

A similar attack in January, which was claimed by the Islamic State group's Sahel Province (ISSP), also saw motorcycle-riding gunmen storm the airport facility as they targeted expensive drones. The attacks in Niger, unseen at this scale in recent years, follow a major raid and continuing fuel blockade by al-Qaida inside and around Mali’s capital of Bamako.

Both al-Qaida and Islamic State group-backed militants, rivals for control of the territory in the Sahel with competing goals and strategic aspirations, started escalating their attacks last year as they seek for more influence in what is known to be global hot spot for terrorism.

The recent attacks reflect a changing militant strategy that increasingly includes urban centers alongside remote, poorly policed communities where insurgent groups traditionally operate, said Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, deputy project director for the International Crisis Group, a think tank.

At the heart of the militant activity are the three neighboring Sahel states of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. They are governed by military juntas that staged coups fueled by resentment toward old Western partners and democratic governments.

The three governments have turned to Russia as a major security ally after turning back from Western allies. French and American forces withdrew, while Russian military personnel moved in.

The attack on Thursday had less significance than the one in January but was important for JNIM and its operations, Ibrahim said. “JNIM in Niger is trying to mark its territory. This is a message to the government but also to IS (Islamic State group),” he added.

Niger’s presence at the intersection of several major conflict zones is also seen as strategic for the groups. It borders Mali and Burkina Faso to the west, where JNIM is strongest, and Nigeria and Chad to the south and east, where Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) operate. To the north, it stretches into the Sahara toward Libya and Algeria.

Analysts warn that ISSP and ISWAP are attempting to use the Niger-Nigeria border as a bridge between the two groups, connecting two of Africa's most powerful and violent extremist groups across a wide swath of territory, a move JNIM opposes.

“Niger is a territory of competition between them,” Wassim Nasr, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, said.

“If JNIM loses the upper hand in Niger against the Islamic State, it will jeopardize its upper hand in Mali and Burkina Faso. … You have an open space like the Wild West, where each is looking to mark its territory,” he added.

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Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, contributed to this report.

FILE- Motorcyclists ride by the entrance of the airport in Niamey, Niger, Aug. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

A tricycle rides along a street in Niamey, Niger, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

Motorcyclist ride along a street in Niamey, Niger, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo)