Armenian protest leader calls for national civil disobedience

Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan waves to his supporters at a rally in Yerevan, Armenia April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Armenian protest leader Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday called on his supporters to launch a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience after the ruling party blocked his bid in parliament to become prime minister.

Pashinyan, addressing tens of thousands of supporters in a square in the Armenian capital, said that starting from Wednesday morning, his supporters would launch a general strike and block roads, railways stations and airports.

He said the protest would be peaceful, and called on police to put down their shields and join his movement.

(Reporting by Margarita Antidze and Hasmik Mkrtchyan; Writing by Christian Lowe; editing by John Stonestreet)