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Protesters on top of a building near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday morning. Iraqi riot police are in place outside the embassy. Photo: AMMAR KARIM / AFP / NTB Photo: AMMAR KARIM / AFP / NTB Photo: AMMAR KARIM / AFP / NTB
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Protesters on top of a building near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday morning. Iraqi riot police are in place outside the embassy. Photo: AMMAR KARIM / AFP / NTB
The protesters set fire to the building early Thursday morning local time.
Published:
Today 02:09
Updated just now
Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad was stormed by several hundred protesters on Thursday night, writes the Reuters news agency.
They set fire to the embassy building, and videos on social media show heavy flames and smoke at the site.
Iraq’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Twitter that it strongly condemns the actions of the protesters.
They write that the incident happened at dawn local time.
– The Iraqi government has instructed the security authorities to investigate and implement the necessary security measures to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident, they write further.
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THE EMBASSY STORMED: Demonstrators near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday night. The news agency Reuters has obtained the image from a video on social media. Photo: MUHANNAD AL-AZZAWI / Reuters / NTBSTORMET THE EMBASSY: Protesters near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday night. The news agency Reuters has obtained the image from a video on social media. Photo: MUHANNAD AL-AZZAWI / Reuters / NTB
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THE EMBASSY STORMED: Demonstrators near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday night. The news agency Reuters has obtained the image from a video on social media. Photo: MUHANNAD AL-AZZAWI / Reuters / NTB
Sweden condemns attack
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs says The evening paper that their employees in Baghdad are safe.
– We are aware of the situation. Our embassy personnel are safe and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in constant contact with them, says the ministry’s press service.
It is not clear if there was anyone inside the embassy itself when the storming occurred.
– We condemn all attacks on diplomats and personnel from international organisations, they say further.
According to Reuters, Sweden also points out that it is the Iraqi authorities who are responsible for protecting diplomats in the country.
The press officer in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) states in an e-mail to VG that no Norwegian MFA employees are currently in the Iraqi capital.
Protested against Koran burning
The storming takes place less than a month later that thousands of protesters gathered outside the Swedish embassy in the wake of Koran burning in Sweden.
The demonstrators are reportedly also protesting this time against a planned burning of the Muslims’ holy book, the Koran, in Sweden. They support one of Iraq’s most influential politicians and clerics, Muqtada al-Sadr, who was also behind the riots in June.
In Sweden, two demonstrators have received police permission to demonstrate outside Iraq’s embassy in Stockholm and burn a Koran on Friday.
Also in Pakistan There have been large protests against Sweden:
In June, a few dozen protesters entered the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. It happened a day after a Koran was burned in Stockholm. The protesters stayed in the embassy for around fifteen minutes before security forces arrived and then reportedly left the building peacefully.
Published:
Published: 20.07.23 at 02:09
Updated: 20.07.23 at 05:23
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2023-07-20 00:09:35
#Protesters #storm #Swedens #embassy #Baghdad
