Armenia emergency lifted, but protests continue

YEREVAN, March 21 (Reuters) - A state of emergency introduced in Armenia following post-election clashes that left eight people dead was lifted on Friday.

Troops left the streets of the capital Yerevan that they had occupied since the March 1 clampdown, but they were replaced by a heavy police presence that blocked around 1,500 protesters assembling in the city centre.

Carrying candles and pictures of those who died, the protesters instead walked through the city's main streets in a vigil they said was to remember the victims of the violent clashes, a Reuters eyewitness reported.

Addressing the crowd, a police officer urged the protesters to disperse: "We are all Armenians, please go home."

The country's outgoing president, Robert Kocharyan, declared the 20-day state of emergency on March 1 after the street battles in Yerevan between police and opposition protesters, who were demanding the annulment of a presidential election.

Kocharyan is to step down next month when his long-time ally and prime minister, Serzh Sarksyan, takes over as president.

Sarksyan defeated opposition candidate and former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan in the Feb. 19 election.

The country moved towards a political resolution on Friday when four political parties signed an agreement establishing a coalition, which included one of the parties that had previously participated in opposition protests.

But Ter-Petrosyan continues to insist the election was rigged and blames police brutality for the violence that also left about 200 people injured. (Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan, writing by Conor Sweeney)