demonstrators angry at burning a copy of the Quran raided the Swedish embassy in Baghdad this Thursday and caused a fire, AP reported.
The AFP indicated that the embassy was set on fire during the demonstration organized by supporters of Shiite religious leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
Smoke billowed from the Swedish diplomatic mission building as dozens of protesters gathered there. observed an AFP correspondent from the roof of a building nearby, where Iraqi riot police were stationed.
In videos accessed by the AP, it is possible to see dozens of men jumping the fence of the Swedish diplomatic complex and the sound of them trying to break down a door. Another video shows what appears to be a small fire being lit, and other images show several individuals appearing to be in an embassy room, with an audible alarm playing in the background.
Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad, scaled its walls and set it on fire in protest of Sweden’s expected burning of a Quran https://t.co/vGvx5Z5twO pic.twitter.com/LEbQZq4rMa
– Reuters (@Reuters) July 20, 2023
Iraqi demonstrators storm the Swedish embassy This is unacceptable behavior by the Iraqi authorities not to protect the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. https://t.co/b3vzdK8H8x
– Miss Jessica Martina Winfield (@Jessica72351918) June 29, 2023
The staff of the Swedish representation is “safe”, the Swedish foreign ministry told AFP.
“We are aware of the situation. our embassy staff (in Iraq) are safe and the ministry maintains regular contact with them”, stated in an email.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has already condemned the attack, having issued “instructions to the appropriate security authorities to conduct an urgent investigation and take the necessary security measures to discover the circumstances of the incident and to apprehend the perpetrators of the act and hold them accountable”. accordingly.” with the law”.
The demonstrations took place after a man planned to burn a copy of the Quran and Torah, the Jewish holy book, in front of the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on Saturday under police protection, the AP said.
However, the man will have already abandoned that plan.
The right to hold public demonstrations is protected by the Swedish Constitution, and blasphemy laws were abolished in the 1970s.
Last month, an Iraqi Christian migrant burned a copy of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm at the start of the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), sparking widespread condemnation in the Islamic world.
Source: DN
