Armenian Supporters Shut Down Both Sides Of 101 Freeway Saturday

HOLLYWOOD, CA - Protesters in Hollywood supporting Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region blocked the Hollywood (101) Freeway in both directions at Bronson Avenue for nearly three hours, according to media reports.

The protest began shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday on surface streets a few blocks to the west of the freeway, as at least 100 cheering demonstrators, including some waving Armenian flags, blocked several lanes of Hollywood Boulevard at Van Ness Avenue and Vine Street, video posted to the Citizen social news app showed.

The California Highway Patrol was asked to respond to the southbound Hollywood Freeway at 9:30 p.m., according to Officer Don Conley of the agency's Traffic Management Center.

Video from CBS2 showed a small group of demonstrators who forced the Hollywood Freeway closure by 10:15 p.m.

But no SigAlert was issued, the CHP said.

The protesters were highlighting the ongoing fighting in a breakaway region of Azerbaijan that observers fear could escalate into a proxy war between Russia and Turkey -- and even Iran, all of whom are vying for control.

Although tensions in the area date back to the Soviet era, things heated up on Sept. 27, when Armenia established martial law and Azerbaijan declared war. At least 230 people have been killed since the clashes began, the highest casualty rate in the region since 2016.

All lanes of the Hollywood Freeway had reopened by 11:54 p.m., Conley said.

Azerbaijani-Turkish bandits are not here to deal with Karabakh or the Karabakh issue. They have not come with the objective of capturing villages, cities. Their key target is the Armenian nation. And they have set themselves the task of bringing to completion #ArmenianGenocide.
— Nikol Pashinyan (@NikolPashinyan) October 3, 2020

—City News Service