Protesters set fire to Sweden’s embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad early Thursday, an AFP journalist said, ahead of a planned burning of a Holy Quran in Sweden.
Swedish authorities approved an assembly to be held later Thursday outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where organisers plan to burn a copy of the Holy Quran as well as an Iraqi flag.
Iraqis have been angered by events in Sweden, and Thursday’s protest in Baghdad was organised by supporters of the turbulent religious leader Moqtada Sadr.
Iraqi riot police fired water cannon to disperse demonstrators away from the embassy while security forces armed with electric batons chased protesters, an AFP photographer on the scene said.
“We are mobilised today to denounce the burning of the Quran, which is all about love and faith,” protester Hassan Ahmed told AFP. “We demand that the Swedish government and the Iraqi government stop this type of initiative.”
