Protests Erupt in Baghdad against Quran Burning Incident in Sweden

Shafaq News/ Dozens of protesters gathered on Saturday at Al-Hurriya Square in the center of Baghdad to express their strong condemnation of the burning of the Quran in Stockholm, Sweden.

Security forces took strict measures and blocked roads leading to the Square.

The demonstrations began on Thursday in Baghdad and other provinces across Iraq. The protests were sparked by the Swedish authorities' granting permission to an Iraqi refugee named Salwan Momika to burn a copy of the Quran and the Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm.

In a show of anger, supporters of the Sadrist Movement stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, setting it ablaze.

The Iraqi government decided to sever diplomatic relations with Sweden. Iraq's prime minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani ordered the Swedish ambassador's expulsion from Iraq and the withdrawal of the Iraqi charge d'affaires from Sweden.