2023-07-20 16:51:07
Baghdad: The crowd occupied the Swedish Embassy in Iraq to protest against the move to burn the Quran for the second time in Sweden. The protesters jumped over the wall of the embassy building and entered and set a small fire in the embassy premises. The protest was carried out by supporters of Shia spiritual and political leader Muqtaqa al-Sadr.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said protesters stormed the embassy and expelled the Swedish ambassador within hours. Along with this, he also informed that their Chargé d’Affaire (Charge d’Affaires) in Sweden has been called back.
Apart from this, the license of Ericsson, a leading Swedish telecom company, to operate in Iraq has also been suspended. Iraq has also warned that if the Koran is burned again, it will cut off diplomatic relations with Sweden. The protest was sparked by a move to burn a Quran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
Following this, al-Sadr’s followers called to burn the Swedish embassy in Iraq. However, protesters in front of the Iraqi embassy in Sweden partially damaged but did not burn a book that the protesters claimed was the Quran.
Finnish Ambassador Matti Lassila said that the staff of the Swedish and Finnish embassies in Iraq had been safely evacuated. The Embassy of Finland is located next to the Swedish Embassy. The Swedish Foreign Ministry said all embassy staff are safe. Sweden, which condemned the incident, stressed the importance of Iraqi authorities providing security for diplomatic facilities. The United States also condemned the incident.
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