Armenia stand-off over as all 20 gunmen occupying police station surrender

The two-week stand-off left two police officers dead and several wounded on both sides

Erebuni police station seized by gunmen and supporters of fringe jailed opposition leader Zhirair Sefilyan, in Yerevan (GETTY)

The Armenian security service has said all 20 gunmen remaining inside a police compound in the capital have surrendered, ending a two-week standoff.

A group of 31 men seized the building in Yerevan on 17 July, demanding the release of Jirair Sefilian, an opposition leader and former military commander, who was arrested in June.

Sefilian has strongly criticised Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and is unhappy about the way the government has been handling a long-running conflict between pro-Armenian separatists and the breakaway Azeri region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The group had lambasted the government of the former Soviet republic and urged people to protest to force the president and the prime minister to step down.

Varuzhan Avetisyan, the leader of the gunmen barricaded inside the police compound, told local media they decided to surrender after security forces used armed vehicles to enter the compound.

Opposition supporters march along the streets to the Erebuni police station seized by gunmen on Friday (AFP)

He also said that police shooting at gunmen who ventured outside was a further factor. Most were hit in the leg, he said, but one man was hit in the chest on Sunday.

All those inside the police station have now been detained, according to reports.

The standoff, involving armed members of the radical group, has left two police officers dead and several wounded on both sides.

A police officer was shot dead from inside the police station on Saturday, after police issued a deadline for the group to surrender.

Several thousand people also joined night rallies in the capital supporting the gunmen, some of which involved clashes with police.

Police issued an ultimatum to the group to surrender following violent clashes between police and protestors on Friday night.

At least 60 people were injured and more than 100 arrests were reported on Friday. Three gunmen were also wounded, after they were allegedly shot by police snipers.

In recent days, four members of the group had surrendered, including two earlier on Sunday, and at least seven were wounded.

The gunmen had held four police officers hostage for a week before releasing them unharmed. They later seized four members of an ambulance crew, but the last two were allowed to leave on Saturday.

Additional reporting by agencies