Iraq: Protesters attempt to storm Baghdad's Green Zone over reports of Quran burning
Jul 22, 2023
Baghdad [Iraq], July 23 : Nearly thousands of protesters, on Saturday, attempted to storm into Baghdad's Green Zone, a heavily fortified area with several foreign embassies and the seat of Iraq’s government, in reaction to reports of Quran burning in Denmark, Al Jazeera reported.
However, the security officers dispersed the protesters on Saturday.
The protesters chanted in support of influential Iraqi Shia religious and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr, carrying images of the leader and flags associated with his movement, alongside the Iraqi flag.
“Yes, yes to the Quran!” shouted the protesters, many of them young men.
Security forces blocked the Jumhuriya bridge leading to the Green Zone, which prevented the protesters from reaching the Danish embassy, as per Al Jazeera.
According to the Danish media reports, the far-right, ultra-nationalist group Danske Patrioter burned a copy of the Quran and an Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen and live-streamed the event on Facebook.
After this incident, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the incident “in strong and repeated terms, the incident of abuse against the Holy Quran and the flag of the Republic of Iraq in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Denmark”, the Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The government urged the international community “to stand urgently and responsibly towards these atrocities that violate social peace and coexistence around the world”.
Earlier, Iraq expelled the Swedish ambassador following massive protests in Baghdad by angry Iraq protesters over the burning of the Quran in Sweden, reported Al Jazeera.
The government announced on Thursday that the Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, had also summoned his nation's charge d'affaires in Sweden over raging protests and suspended the Swedish telecom corporation Ericsson's ability to conduct business in Iraq, according to Al Jazeera.
The Quran-burning demonstration happened on June 28 when an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, Salwan Momika, 37, stomped on the Muslim holy book and set several pages on fire outside Stockholm's main mosque, which prompted massive condemnations worldwide, Al Jazeera reported.
