YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Thousands of people are flooding into the Armenian capital to protest the former president's shift into the prime minister's seat, which they see as an attempt to hold on to power.

Opponents of Serzh Sargsyan, who served as Armenia's president from 2008 and just became the country's prime minister on Tuesday, blockaded government buildings and paralyzed traffic in the capital of Yerevan.

About 15,000 rallied Wednesday at Yerevan's central Republic Square under slogans: "Make a step and reject Serzh." Smaller protests have swept Armenia's second-largest city of Gyumri and a few other cities.

The protests that began Friday have been mostly peaceful, except for Monday's clashes with police that left 46 people injured, including six police officers.

Opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinian has urged the demonstrators to continue blockading government buildings.