Traffic temporarily blocked on 101 Freeway as protesters rally for Armenia
Protesters in Hollywood supporting Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region temporarily blocked the 101 Freeway in both directions Saturday night at Bronson Avenue.
The protest began before 9 p.m. on surface streets a few blocks to the west, as at least 100 cheering demonstrators, including some waving the Armenian flag, blocked 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 101 at 9:30 p.m., said Officer Don Conley of the agency’s Traffic Management Center.
Video from KCBS-TV Channel 2 showed a small group of demonstrators had forced the closure of both directions of the 101 by 10:15 p.m. But as of 10:20 p.m. a SigAlert had not been issued, the CHP said.
The issue protesters are highlighting has to do with fighting in a breakaway region of Azerbaijan that observers fear could escalate as a proxy war between Russia and Turkey — and even Iran.
Although tensions date to the Soviet era, things heated up Sept. 27, with Armenia establishing martial law and Azerbaijan declaring a state of war.
The clashes have led to the highest casualty rate in the region since 2016.
Traffic began to open on the 101 Freeway around 11 p.m., KTTV-TV Channel 11 reported.
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