Dozens of protesters burn down the Swedish Embassy in Iraq in protest against the authorization of another burning of the Koran

The Swedish Police authorize the burning of the holy book of Islam in a demonstration near the Iraqi Embassy in Sweden

July 20 () –

Hundreds of protesters have set fire to the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad (Iraq) during the early hours of Thursday morning after the Swedish Police authorized the burning of another copy of the Koran during a demonstration that will take place near the Iraqi diplomatic headquarters in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm.

The protest in front of the Swedish Embassy has been organized by members of the ‘Sadrist’ movement, whose leader is the powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr, whom they consider a new messiah.

Despite a “strong deployment” of the riot police, the protesters have managed to storm the building and set it on fire, as reported by the Al Arabiya chain.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry has reported that all employees of the Embassy in the Iraqi capital are safe, and has reminded the country’s authorities that it is their responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and their staff.

For its part, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry has condemned “in the strongest terms the incident of the burning of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in Baghdad, in the early hours of today, Thursday, July 20, 2023. This act occurs in the context of assaults on diplomatic missions and threats to their security”, the ministry itself published on its Twitter account.

In addition, they have reported that an “urgent investigation” has been launched and that they have asked the authorities to take the necessary security measures and identify the culprits.

SECOND ASSAULT ON THE SWEDISH EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD

This attack on the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad is not the first, as it already suffered another irruption on June 29 in the framework of a demonstration called to protest the burning of a copy of the Koran during a rally in Stockholm that had been endorsed by the Police of the European country.

The burning of the holy book of Islam led several Arab and Muslim countries to call their ambassadors for consultations or summon Swedish representatives and unleashed a wave of calls for a boycott of Swedish products, as well as criticism of the authorities of the European country. for giving permission to the demonstration knowing that a copy of the Koran was going to be set on fire.