Protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Koran stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad early yesterday, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire, and setting off a diplomatic furor.
Online videos showed demonstrators at the diplomatic post waving flags and signs showing the Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Moqtada al-Sadr ahead of a planned burning of the Islamic holy book in Stockholm by an Iraqi asylum seeker who burned a copy of the Koran in a previous demonstration last month.
Following the incident, the Swedish embassy announced it had closed to visitors without specifying when it would reopen. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani convened a meeting with security officials and said in a statement afterward that Iraqi authorities would prosecute those responsible for the arson and refer “negligent security officials” for investigation.
Photo: AFP
However, the statement also said that the Iraqi government on Wednesday had informed its Swedish counterpart that Baghdad would cut off diplomatic relations should the Koran burning go forward.
The videos showed dozens of men climbing over the fence at the complex, with the sound of them trying to break down a front door. Another showed what appeared to be a small fire being set. Other footage showed men, some shirtless in the summer heat, inside what appeared to be a room at the embassy, an alarm audible in the background.
Others later performed predawn prayers outside the embassy.
As dawn broke, police and other security officials gathered at the embassy as small plumes of smoke still rose. Firefighters tried to douse the flames from the ladder of a fire truck. Some demonstrators still stood at the site, holding placards showing al-Sadr’s face, apparently left alone by police.
The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said in a statement that “our embassy staff are in safety,” without elaborating.
In a statement posted on its Web site yesterday, the Swedish embassy said it is closed to visitors, but did not specify how long the closure would last.
“We condemn all attacks on diplomats and staff from international organizations,” the ministry said. “Attacks on embassies and diplomats constitute a serious violation of the Vienna Convention. Iraqi authorities have the responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and diplomatic staff.”
Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billstrom called the attacks “completely unacceptable” and said the ministry would summon Iraq’s charge d’affaires in Stockholm. He slammed Iraqi authorities for “seriously failing” in their responsibility to protect the embassy and its personnel.
The Finnish embassy in Baghdad is adjacent to the Swedish embassy, in an area enclosed by blast walls. Finnish Ambassador to Iraq Matti Lassila told the Finnish public broadcaster YLE that the staff of the Swedish and Finnish embassies were proactively evacuated on Wednesday and were uninjured.
Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement condemning the attack, without explaining how it allowed the breach to happen or identifying who carried out the assault.
“The Iraqi government has instructed the competent security authorities to conduct an urgent investigation and take the necessary security measures in order to uncover the circumstances of the incident and identify the perpetrators of this act and hold them accountable according to the law,” the Iraqi ministry said.
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