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Dozens of demobilized army officers gathered on Thursday outside the government building in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, to voice their complaints about the housing issue.

The former officers are demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to discuss the issue of providing them with apartments.

One of the ex-commanders said they had presented the issue to the former authorities, but it failed to be tackled amid claims about shortage of budget. 

“The situation has reached a point when there are 4,000 demobilized officers, including 1,000 military pensioners, who have ended up homeless. Some of them live on rent, others in containers, with a few housed by their neighbors and relatives,” one of the participants said.

The former officers said they met with the deputy defense minister last week to address the issue, with the ministry proposing to allocate land plots to them.

“The proposal is not acceptable for us. It is not clarified where they will be allocated. It is also uncertain whether they will be given or not. According to our information, the PM is aware of our problem and is willing to meet us. We expect someone to come out and talk to us, but as you see no one has come out yet,” the officers said.

Colonel Volodya Avetisyan, Chairman of the “Decent Freedom Fighter” NGO has also jointed the campaign.