- US issued a firm condemnation on Thursday regarding the attack on the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad
- Iraqi authorities have gravely neglected their duty to safeguard diplomatic missions and personnel
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom expressed strong condemnation on Thursday over the storming of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad earlier that day, describing it as “totally unacceptable.”
Billstrom stated in a press release, “It is evident that the Iraqi authorities have gravely neglected their duty to safeguard diplomatic missions and personnel.”
In the early hours of Thursday, hundreds of protesters forcefully entered the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and set it ablaze in response to the anticipated burning of a Quran in Sweden, as reported by a reliable source and witnessed by Reuters.
The source confirmed that no embassy staff members were injured during the incident but did not provide additional details. Requests for comments from Swedish embassy officials in Baghdad have not been promptly answered.
A spokesperson from the Swedish foreign ministry declined to provide any comments.
The demonstration on Thursday was organized to oppose the second planned Quran burning in Sweden within a few weeks by supporters of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Sadr. This information was conveyed through posts in a popular Telegram group associated with the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media.
According to reports from Swedish news agency TT on Wednesday, Swedish police approved an application for a public gathering outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.
Meanwhilw,The United States issued a firm condemnation on Thursday regarding the attack on the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, which occurred in response to the planned Quran burning in Stockholm. The U.S. also criticized Iraq’s security forces for their failure to prevent protesters from breaching the diplomatic post.
