Armenia's new president sworn-in

MOSCOW, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Armenia's new President Serzh Sargsyan was sworn-in Wednesday, and named central bank chief Tigran Sarksyan as Prime Minister of the Caucasus state.

Sargsyan was elected president in the Feb. 19 elections, which were followed by opposition protests and a state of emergency.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at a special parliamentary session in a theater of the capital Yerevan, according to reports reaching here.

Sargsyan was Armenian prime minister before defeating the other eight candidates in the elections.

A mountainous country with about three million people, Armenia has seen repeated political violence and post-election protests since gaining its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.