Storming the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and setting it on fire
The Swedish embassy in Baghdad was set on fire at dawn on Thursday during a demonstration organized by supporters of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, on the eve of A gathering in Sweden in front of the Iraqi embassyHis organization intends to burn a copy of the Quran.
Smoke rose from the embassy building, which was surrounded by dozens of demonstrators, amid a heavy deployment of riot police.
Hundreds of protesters also stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the early hours of this morning.
It is not yet clear if anyone was inside the embassy when it was stormed. A source told Reuters that none of the embassy staff was hurt.
Later, al-Sadr’s supporters withdrew from the embassy and its surroundings, while the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the burning of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said that the government instructed the competent authorities to urgently investigate the burning of the Swedish embassy, and stressed that the necessary measures be taken to hold those involved accountable.
The attack on the Swedish embassy in Baghdad came after the Swedish police allowed the organization of a gathering in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where the organizer intends to burn a copy of the Koran and the Iraqi flag on Thursday.
On June 28, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden also burned pages from a copy of the Qur’an in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm on Eid al-Adha. This prompted supporters of the Sadrist movement in Iraq to storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on June 29.
