BAGHDAD, July 20 (AP): Protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Quran stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad on early Thursday, 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 influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr ahead of a planned burning of the Islamic holy book on Thursday in Stockholm by an Iraqi asylum-seeker who burned a copy of the Quran in a previous demonstration last month.
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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 afterwards that Iraqi authorities will prosecute those responsible for the arson as well referring “negligent security officials” for investigation.
However, the statement also said that the Iraqi government had informed its Swedish counterpart on Wednesday that Iraq would cut off diplomatic relations should the Quran 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 of 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 Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “our embassy staff are in safety,” without elaborating.
In a statement posted on its website on Thursday, the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad said it is closed to visitors, but didn’t specify how long the closure would last.
“We condemn all attacks on diplomats and staff from international organisations,” 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 Foreign Minister Tobias Billström called the attacks “completely unacceptable” in a statement and said the ministry will summon Iraq’s charge d’affaires in Stockholm, slamming 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.
Finland’s ambassador to Iraq, Matti Lassila, told the Finnish public broadcaster YLE that the staff of the Swedish and Finnish embassies were proactively evacuated Wednesday and were uninjured.
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry 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 Foreign Ministry said.
Iraqi police did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
Stockholm police spokesman Mats Eriksson confirmed that police had granted permission for a demonstration involving two people outside the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.
He could not say whether the protesters were planning to burn the Quran.
The right to hold public demonstrations is strong in Sweden and protected by the constitution. Blasphemy laws were abandoned in the 1970s.
Police generally give permission based on whether they believe a public gathering can be held without major disruptions or risks to public safety.
However, for Muslims, the burning of the Quran represents a blasphemous desecration of their religion’s holy text.
Quran burnings in the past have sparked protests across the Muslim world, some turning violent. In Afghanistan, the Taliban have suspended all the activities of Swedish organizations in the country in response to the recent Quran burning.
An Iraqi Christian immigrant last month burned a Quran outside a Stockholm mosque during the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, triggering widespread condemnation in the Islamic world.
According to Swedish news agency TT, the same man was one of those who planned to burn the Quran on Thursday.
A similar protest by a far-right activist was held outside Turkey’s Embassy earlier this year, complicating Sweden’s efforts to convince Turkey to let it join NATO.
In June, protesters who support al-Sadr stormed the embassy in Baghdad during daylight hours over that Quran burning.
Another day of protests saw thousands of demonstrators on the streets in the country. Protesters then, as well as early Thursday, called on Iraqi officials to expel Sweden’s ambassador to Iraq.
