Intensified security measures in Baghdad as anti-Quran burning protests persist

A correspondent from the Shafaq News Agency reported that there was an intensified security deployment in the vicinity of the Green Zone, particularly near the Republic Bridge, accompanied by the closure of streets leading to the Swedish embassy situated adjacent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that it had received a message from the Swedish government expressing strong condemnation of the actions of an Iraqi-origin refugee who burned the Quran in front of the grand mosque in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

Yesterday, Thursday, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad and lodged a formal protest against the burning of a copy of the Quran.

In response to the incident, dozens of followers of Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad yesterday, after successfully breaching the embassy gate in protest against the desecration of the Quran.

The situation remains tense as protests continue to gather momentum, prompting Iraqi authorities to implement robust security measures in the Green Zone to ensure the safety of diplomatic missions and prevent any further escalation of the situation.