Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday morning, setting it on fire in response to an alleged planned burning of the Quran, according to multiple reports and video footage.
The incident began after supporters of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr organized a protest in response to a second planned burning of the Quran in Sweden by an Iraqi Christian immigrant, Reuters reported. In June, the Iraqi man burned a Quran outside of a Stockholm mosque during a major Muslim holiday, sparking outrage throughout the Muslim world, according to the Associated Press (AP).
While burning the Quran is blasphemous to Muslims throughout the world, blasphemy laws were abandoned in Sweden in the 1970s, strengthening the right to hold public demonstrations in the country, AP reported. Police within Sweden generally allow protests to occur as long as they don’t threaten public safety. Police had allowed for a demonstration outside the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm on Thursday, police spokesman Mats Eriksson confirmed to AP, but he was not able to corroborate whether that demonstration involved the burning of the Quran.
BREAKING: Storming of Sweden’s embassy in Baghdadpic.twitter.com/XsP2WZ2G5V
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Video footage posted by AP shows plumes of smoke rising from the embassy after fires were reportedly set within.
While the Iraqi government reportedly condemned the burning of the Swedish embassy, it also warned the Swedish government that “any recurrence of the incident involving the burning of the Holy Qur’an on Swedish soil would necessitate severing diplomatic relations,” according to a statement from the Iraqi prime minister’s office, cited by Reuters. (RELATED: Protesters Break Into US Embassy In Baghdad Following American Airstrikes, Gunshots Reportedly Heard)
The Iraqi government expelled the Swedish ambassador Thursday, Reuters reported. The Iraqi charge d’affaires in Sweden has also been recalled by the Iraqi government, according to the outlet.
“We condemn all attacks on diplomats and staff from international organizations,” the Swedish Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to AP. “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 has said he plans to summon Iraq’s charge d’affaires in Stockholm over the alleged failure of Iraqi authorities to protect the embassy and its personnel, the outlet reported. “The government is in contact with high-level Iraqi representatives to express our dismay,” Billström stated, according to Reuters.
Law enforcement authorities in Iraq plan to conduct an investigation into the embassy attack and will hold the perpetrators accountable, AP reported, citing Iraq’s Foreign Ministry.