Thousands rally in Armenia after PM warns of coup attempt

Russia, an ally of Armenia which has a military base in Armenia, said it was alarmed by events in the former Soviet republic and called for the situation to be resolved peacefully and within the constitution.

Pashinyan, 45, has faced calls to quit since November after what critics said was his disastrous handling of a six-week conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave and surrounding areas.

Ethnic Armenian forces ceded swathes of territory to Azerbaijan in the fighting and Russia, which worries about instability in the former Soviet Union, has deployed peacekeepers to the enclave, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated by ethnic Armenians.

Pashinyan, a former journalist who swept to power in a peaceful revolution in May 2018, has rejected calls to step down despite opposition protests. He says he takes responsibility for what happened but now needs to ensure his country's security.

On Thursday, the army added its voice to those calling for him to resign.

"The ineffective management of the current authorities and the serious mistakes in foreign policy have put the country on the brink of collapse," the army said in a statement.

It denounced Pashinyan's sacking of the first deputy head of the army's general staff, a move it described as irresponsible, groundless and detrimental to the state.

Two former presidents - Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sarksyan - released statements calling on Armenians to throw their support behind the military.

It was unclear whether the army was willing to use force to back its statement, in which it called for Pashinyan to resign.

Pashinyan responded by calling on his followers to rally in the centre of the capital, Yerevan, to support him and took to Facebook to address the nation in a livestream.