Hundreds of protesters stormed the main gates of the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad early on Thursday in response to the decision by Stockholm police to grant permission for a demonstration where, reportedly, another burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, is planned.
Videos posted on social media show a large number of protesters inside the embassy’s perimeter, as well as images of black smoke and fire coming out of the building. CNN has reached out to Iraqi and Swedish authorities for comment.
The protest scheduled for Thursday will come just weeks after a man set fire to pages of the Quran outside the main mosque in Stockholm, sparking outrage and widespread condemnation around the world.
According to AFP, Swedish police said on Wednesday that they had granted permission for a protest to take place outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, with reports suggesting that the organizers planned to burn the Muslim holy book. Stockholm police told AFP that they had granted a permit for a “public gathering” outside the Iraqi embassy, but did not wish to comment further on what the protesters were planning.
AFP reports that Swedish police emphasized that they only grant permits for people to hold public gatherings and not for activities carried out during those gatherings.
Eyewitnesses told CNN that the protesters withdrew from the perimeter of the Swedish embassy after setting part of it on fire “after delivering their protest message against the act of burning the Holy Book of God.”
Iraq condemns the attack and initiates an investigation
The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday (local time) condemned the fire at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, according to a statement.
The incident is part of a troubling pattern of attacks on diplomatic missions, which poses a major security threat, the ministry added.
It stated that the Iraqi government took swift action, instructing the competent security authorities to launch an urgent investigation and “take measures to uncover the circumstances of the incident, identify the perpetrators of this act, and apprehend those responsible according to the law.”
At the end of June, a man burned a copy of the Islamic holy book in front of a mosque in Stockholm, prompting mass condemnation throughout the Muslim world. Footage of the event showed that he was the only person, aside from his translator, at the protest, which coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, one of the most important dates on the Islamic calendar.
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