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Iraqi riot police try to disperse supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gathering for a protest outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on July 20, 2023. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States on Thursday said it “strongly” condemns the attack on the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and criticised Iraqi security forces for failing to protect the embassy compound.
Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked the mission early Thursday, angry that Swedish police had allowed another Quran-burning protest in Stockholm.
“Freedom of peaceful assembly is an essential hallmark of democracy, but what occurred last night was an unlawful act of violence. It is unacceptable that Iraqi Security Forces did not act to prevent protestors from breaching the Swedish Embassy compound for a second time and damaging it,” said the US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller in a statement.
“We call on the Government of Iraq to honor its international obligations to protect all diplomatic missions in Iraq against any intrusion or damage, as required by international law,” he added.
Miller later told Rudaw's Diyar Kurda during a press briefing that "any protest should be peaceful," adding that his country "fully support the right of anyone anywhere in the world to protest peacefully on any issue on which they might want to raise their voice."
Iraq's foreign ministry and the United Nations have also condemned the attack on the Swedish embassy, which Stockholm described as “completely unacceptable.”
Iraqis are angry that Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden, on Thursday afternoon stomped on the Islamic holy book and the Iraqi flag in front of Baghdad’s embassy in Stockholm. This was his second protest. Last month, he burned a copy of the Quran outside a Stockholm mosque.
Hours before Momika’s protest, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani warned Stockholm he would sever diplomatic ties if Swedish authorities allowed the protest to go ahead. When Sweden did not stop the protest, Sudani ordered the withdrawal of Iraq’s charge d’affaires from Stockholm and expelled Sweden’s ambassador from Iraq.
Speaking to reporters in Najaf, Sadr said that he is opposed to the government of Sweden but has no issues with the Swedish people. He called on regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia to take a "stronger" stand on the Quran-burning and for the Arab League to meet.
After the Swedish ambassador was ordered to leave the country, Iraq’s Media and Communications Commission suspended the license of Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, state media reported.
Updated at 9:05 pm
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