MOSCOW – Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad early today and set it on fire, Sputnik reported, quoting a Reuters report that cited sources familiar with the situation and an eyewitness.
The source told the agency that no embassy staff had been injured in the incident.
The protest was called ahead of an expected burning of a Quran in Sweden, the report said.
People gathered near the embassy around 1.00am local time on Thursday and stormed the building an hour later, the agency reported, citing a series of unconfirmed videos on social media. Smoke rising from the embassy could also be seen on videos, the report said.
Iraqi nationals in Baghdad had been rallying outside the Swedish embassy in protest of the recent Quran-burning incident in Stockholm.
The media reported yesterday that the Swedish police greenlighted another rally outside the Iraqi embassy, where one more Quran-burning protest was scheduled for today.
On June 28, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, a protest took place outside Stockholm’s main mosque, during which the Quran was burned. The Swedish police authorised the demonstration. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the authorisation was “lawful but inappropriate”.
The desecration and burning of the Quran in Stockholm sparked a wave of condemnation around the world. Iraq has called on Swedish authorities to extradite the immigrant responsible for the incident. Many heads of state, along with the secretary general of the Arab League and the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council, have condemned the act. – Bernama, July 20, 2023
