Thousands rallied on Wednesday outside Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's office in the Armenian capital Yerevan to protest the government's handling of the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, an AFP reporter saw.
Protestors who blocked all nearby streets accused the government of abandoning the mainly Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh after separatists surrendered to Azerbaijan's forces.
A day after Azerbaijan launched a military operation in Karabakh, separatist Armenian forces agreed to lay down their arms and hold reintegration talks.
"We are losing our homeland, our people," said 20-year-old musician Sargis Hayats.
Pashinyan "must go, he can't rule the country, he told AFP.
Pashinyan swept to power promising change but a humiliating military defeat to Azerbaijan in 2020 and a dramatic escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh tarnished his reputation.
The opposition has repeatedly accused Pashinyan of making too many concessions on Karabakh.
"Everyone abandoned Artsakh, my homeland is alone, without help," 47-year-old Hasmik Manukyan said, crying.
"(The authorities) think Artsakh is an unnecessary burden for Armenia, but it's not," he said, using the Armenian term for Nagorno-Karabakh.
"We will stay here and stage marches," 26-year-old Suren Javulyan said, adding: "If Armenians are united, the enemy will not prevail."