Iran Press/Middle East: Swedish authorities approved an assembly to be held later Thursday outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where organizers plan to burn a copy of the Quran as well as an Iraqi flag.
Iraqis have been angered by events in Sweden and Thursday’s protest in Baghdad was organized by supporters of Moqtada Sadr, Iraqi News reported.
A series of videos posted to social media showed people gathering around the embassy around 1 a.m. on Thursday (2200 GMT on Wednesday) chanting pro-Sadr slogans and storming the embassy complex around an hour later. “Yes, yes to the Holy Quran,” protesters chanted.
Protesters urged that the Swedish and the Iraqi government stop Quran burning.
Several trucks to extinguish the fire had arrived at the embassy, where skirmishes between Iraqi security forces and demonstrators had broken out.
Iraqi police used water cannon to disperse protesters from Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad after the building was set on fire in protest of the planned Qoran burning in Stockholm.
Security forces armed with electric batons chased protesters away from the embassy, the AFP photographer said.
Sweden’s foreign ministry told AFP its embassy staff in Baghdad were “safe” following the incident.
Iraq’s foreign ministry condemned the embassy torching and called on security forces to identify those responsible.
Swedish media reported that Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden, had organized the event in Stockholm on Thursday.
Also, the Swedish news agency TT reported on Wednesday that Swedish police granted an application for a public meeting outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.
Salwan burned a few pages of a copy of the Quran in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque on June 28 during Eid al-Adha, a holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world.
After June 28 Quran burning protesters storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad the following day.
Another major protest took place outside of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the aftermath of that Holy Quran burning, with protesters breaching the embassy grounds on one occasion.
The governments of several Muslim countries, including Iran, Turkey, UAE, Jordan,... issued protests about the incident, with Iraq seeking the man’s extradition to face trial in the country.
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