Over 1,000 Armenian Americans Demonstrate Outside Azerbaijan Consulate
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — More than 1,000 Armenian Americans and supporters gathered Wednesday night outside of the Azerbaijan Consulate General in the Sawtelle area.
The demonstration, organized by the Armenian Youth Federation, was held to protest what they call Azerbaijan's aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh.
Demonstrators took to the streets, near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue, at 6 p.m. waiving Armenian flags and holding protest signs that said "Artsakh is Armenia," "Defend Armenia" and "Armenians Demand Justice."
Participants in Wednesday's rally were urged to adhere to social distancing and face covering guidelines.
The mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh is controlled by ethnic Armenians, but lies inside Azerbaijani territory. Azerbaijan has long expressed its intent to take control of the territory.
The clash in the region, reignited Sunday, is possibly the most violent since Armenia and Azerbaijan's 1994 ceasefire.
The Los Angeles metropolitan area has the largest population of Armenians in the world outside of Armenia.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
