Kamo Aghajanyan, who’s served as the Artsakh Chief of Police since March 2013, has resigned.

In a statement posted on the Artsakh Police website, Aghajanyan writes that he step’s stepping down given the recent protests in Stepanakert and his desire not to exacerbate tensions by staying on the job.

The protests in the Artsakh capital began on June 1 after an incident in which members of the Artsakh National Security Service (NSS) assaulted two citizens in response to an earlier confrontation between an NSS officer and residents.