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| Armenia presidential candidate Airikian shot in Yerevan | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A candidate in Armenia's presidential elections has been shot and wounded in the capital Yerevan, in what officials believe was an assassination attempt. | A candidate in Armenia's presidential elections has been shot and wounded in the capital Yerevan, in what officials believe was an assassination attempt. |
| The officials say Paruir Airikian, aged 63, was taken to hospital with a gunshot injury to his shoulder. He is reportedly in a stable condition. | |
| Police have sealed off the area and are searching for the gunman. | Police have sealed off the area and are searching for the gunman. |
| Mr Airikian, a well-known dissident from the Soviet era, is one of eight people contesting the 18 February poll. | Mr Airikian, a well-known dissident from the Soviet era, is one of eight people contesting the 18 February poll. |
| He spent a number of years in Soviet prison camps and in exile for being a member of a clandestine political organisation as well as for his anti-establishment writings. | |
| Mr Airikian is seen as one of the outsiders in the elections, with incumbent leader Serge Sarkisian widely expected to win. | |
| The 2008 presidential vote led to clashes between police and protesters which left 10 people dead after then Mr Sarkisian was declared the winner. | |
| Armenia's economy was badly hit by the 2008-9 global financial crisis. It remains hobbled by a trade blockade imposed by neighbouring Turkey and Azerbaijan since the 1990s war with Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. |