Brussels 29.06.2023 A group of Iraqis protesting against the act of public burning of the Quran near a mosque in Stockholm stormed the territory of the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, June 29, the Iraqi news media Shafaq News reported.

More than a hundred protesters assembled near the building of the Swedish embassy on Thursday. At a certain moment a group of protesters managed to “break the gate and enter the area of the Swedish Embassy”, which is located in central Baghdad. There is no information about any further damage.

The Alsumaria TV channel reported that the intruders had already left the Embassy’s territory as abruptly as they entered. Other Iraqis who participated in the protest are also leaving. The indignant activists demanded the expulsion of the Swedish Ambassador from Baghdad in protest against the desecration of one of the most important Muslim shrines.

The burning of the Quran occurred during a police-authorized demonstration in Stockholm’s Medborgarplatsen Square a day before. Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi immigrant, tore pages from the Quran and set it on fire. On that day, Muslims around the world were celebrating Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s major religious holidays.

Moreover, more than 1.8 million Muslims on Wednesday completed the hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy places of Islam in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.