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Protestors break into Swedish embassy in Baghdad after Stockholm Quran burning

One Baghdad

Protesters broke into the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad



CNN
 — 

Demonstrators breached the perimeter of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad Thursday, a day after a protestor burned a duplicate of the Quran in Sweden.

The protests in the Iraqi capital have been ordered by the highly effective Iraqi Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, who additionally referred to as for the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad.

Videos circulating on social media confirmed some protesters climbing over a barricaded wall outdoors the embassy. It is unclear how far into the constructing they bought, earlier than withdrawing.

Sweden mentioned its workers have been secure. “We are well informed about the situation. Our Embassy staff are in safety and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is in regular contact with them,” the Swedish overseas ministry’s press workplace informed CNN in an e mail.

An Iraqi safety supply confirmed to CNN that the incident was over. The AFP information company reported that the protestors have been contained in the compound for about 15 minutes.

The protests in Baghdad got here after an incident in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, on Wednesday, when a person burned a duplicate of Islam’s holy ebook outdoors a mosque. Images of the occasion confirmed he was the one particular person aside from his translator on the demonstration, which coincided with the Muslim vacation of Eid-al-Adha, some of the important in the Islamic calendar.

Al Sadr demanded authorities withdraw the Iraqi nationality of Salwan Momika – the organizer of the one-man Quran protest in Stockholm – who immigrated to left Iraq for Sweden 5 years in the past.

“If freedom of speech is guaranteed to Iraq and the world, then the believers have to express their views on the burning of the holy books… through massive angry protests against the Swedish embassy in Iraq,” Al Sadr mentioned.

Muslim international locations and Islamic organizations had condemned the burning of the Quran in Stockholm. Iran referred to as the act “provocative” and Kuwait mentioned it’s a “dangerous provocatory step”.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation [OIC], the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council all individually expressed sturdy condemnation to the occasion.

On Wednesday, Morocco recalled its ambassador to Sweden and each Iraq and Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the act. On Thursday, the United Arab Emirates summoned Sweden’s ambassador to Abu Dhabi to protest the Quran burning incident, the UAE’s state information company WAM mentioned.

In January early this 12 months Iraqi protesters clashed with safety forces outdoors the Swedish embassy for a separate incident of Quran burning in Stockholm.

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