Protesters storm Swedish embassy in Baghdad

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Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday in a show of rage against the expected burning of a Koran in Stockholm.

Footage on social media showed groups of men climbing over the compound fence, and attempting to break down the embassy doors. Smoke was seen rising from a building in the embassy compound after the protesters started a fire.

Sweden’s foreign ministry said all its embassy staff were safe. “Attacks on embassies and diplomats constitute a serious violation of the Vienna Convention,” it said in a statement. “Iraqi authorities have the responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and diplomatic staff.” 

Swedish media this week reported that police in Stockholm had granted permission for two people to hold a protest outside the Iraqi embassy on Thursday, with some reports saying they planned to burn a copy of the Koran.

Sweden has some of the strongest protections for free speech in Europe and has previously given permission for such protests to be held, even after they sparked riots.

Iraq’s foreign ministry condemned Thursday’s embassy attack “in the strongest terms” and said security officials would conduct an urgent investigation. But they did not explain how protesters were able to reach the heavily-guarded embassy compound. 

Security forces used water cannons to disperse the demonstrators, as firefighters extinguished the fire. Small groups of protesters remained outside the embassy where they performed pre-dawn prayers. 

Some of the demonstrators carried flags showing Moqtada al-Sadr, the influential Shia cleric and political leader, and chanted pro-Sadr slogans. Posts on pro-Sadr media suggested his supporters had called the protests.

The cleric commands hundreds of thousands of followers throughout Iraq, and has previously stirred civil unrest. Last summer his loyalists stormed Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone and engaged in deadly clashes with rival groups in which 30 people died and hundreds were wounded. 

Last month, a man who said he was an Iraqi Christian immigrant to Sweden burnt a Koran outside a Stockholm mosque during the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha. The incident triggered furious reaction from governments in Muslim countries including the UAE, Iraq, Jordan and Morocco.

Sadr called for the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador.

The burning of a Koran is seen as blasphemous for many Muslims. In the past, burning of the holy text have sparked violent protests across the world.