Protesters storm Swedish embassy in Baghdad, set fire over planned Qur’an burning – National | 24CA News
Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad within the early hours of Thursday morning, scaling its partitions and setting it on hearth in protest towards the anticipated burning of a Qur’an in Sweden.
All Baghdad embassy workers had been protected, the Swedish international ministry press workplace mentioned in a press release, condemning the assault and highlighting the necessity for Iraqi authorities to guard diplomatic missions.
Iraq’s international ministry additionally condemned the incident and mentioned in a press release the Iraqi authorities had instructed safety forces to hold out a swift investigation, determine perpetrators and maintain them to account.
Thursday’s demonstration was known as by supporters of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Sadr to protest the second deliberate Qur’an burning in Sweden in weeks, based on posts in a preferred Telegram group linked the influential cleric and different pro-Sadr media.
Swedish news company TT reported on Wednesday that Swedish police granted an utility for a public assembly exterior the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.
The utility says the applicant seeks to burn the Qur’an and the Iraqi flag, TT reported.
Two folks had been set to take part within the demonstration, based on TT, including one of many folks was the identical one that set a Qur’an on hearth exterior a Stockholm mosque in June.
A collection of movies posted to the Telegram group, One Baghdad, confirmed folks gathering across the embassy round 1 a.m. on Thursday (2200 GMT on Wednesday) chanting pro-Sadr slogans.
“Yes, yes to the Qur’an,” protesters chanted.
Videos later confirmed smoke rising from a constructing within the embassy complicated and protesters standing on its roof. Reuters couldn’t independently confirm the authenticity of the movies.
Other movies confirmed dozens of males climbing over the fence on the complicated, with the sound of them attempting to interrupt down a entrance door. Another confirmed what gave the impression to be a small hearth being set. Still extra footage confirmed males, some shirtless in the summertime warmth, inside what gave the impression to be a room on the embassy, an alarm audible within the background.
Others later carried out predawn prayers exterior of the embassy.
By daybreak on Thursday, safety forces had deployed contained in the embassy and smoke rose from the constructing as firefighters extinguished cussed embers, based on Reuters witnesses.
Most protesters had withdrawn, with a couple of dozen milling round exterior the embassy.
Late final month, Sadr known as for protests towards Sweden and the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador after the Qur’an burning in Stockholm by an Iraqi man.
Swedish police charged the person with agitation towards an ethnic or nationwide group. In a newspaper interview, he described himself as an Iraqi refugee in search of to ban the Qur’an, the central non secular textual content of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God.
Two main protests occurred exterior of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad within the aftermath of that Qur’an burning, with protesters breaching the embassy grounds on one event.
The governments of a number of Muslim international locations, together with Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco issued protests concerning the incident, with Iraq in search of the person’s extradition to face trial within the nation.
The United States additionally condemned it, however added that Sweden’s issuing of the allow supported freedom of expression and was not an endorsement of the motion.
With further information from the Associated Press
