Fresh protests rocked Baghdad on Saturday over Quran desecrations amid diplomatic tensions, after police dispersed hundreds of Moqtada Sadr supporters heading for the Danish embassy.
This latest protest, which occurred overnight, was sparked by reports of what appears to be a desecration of the Koran in Denmark. On Facebook, the far-right Danske Patrioter movement posted a video on Friday of a man apparently burning a Koran and stomping on an Iraqi flag.
Contacted on Saturday by AFP, the Copenhagen police confirmed “a very small demonstration yesterday in front of the Iraqi embassy” during which “a book was burned”, without being able to say “which book it was”.
The incident is the latest in a string of rallies that have sparked tensions between Scandinavian and Muslim countries.
After two events in Stockholm in which the Koran was desecrated by an Iraqi refugee, supporters of Moqtada Sadr burned down the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday and the Iraqi government announced the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador.
And late Saturday afternoon, several hundred demonstrators, brandishing copies of the Koran and Iraqi flags, gathered on an avenue in Baghdad, a rally organized by supporters of the former pro-Iran paramilitaries of Hachd al-Chaabi.
“No, no to the devil, yes, yes to the Koran,” they chanted, in a relaxed atmosphere, waving the flags of certain Hachd groups, according to an AFP correspondent.
“We support the Iraqi government’s decision to expel the Swedish ambassador,” read one placard.
“The Koran is our Constitution and it represents us (…) we do not burn, we do not kill, we condemn in the name of religion and humanity,” said one of the organizers, who only gave his first name, Assaad.
After Sweden, Denmark crystallizes all the anger, although its Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned “the burning of the Koran”, a “shameful act” and “provocative, which hurts many people”.
In southern Iraq, the Danish Refugee Council, an NGO, reported on Saturday an “armed attack” against its premises near Basra, assuring that its staff were “physically unscathed”. “Structures” at the site were set on fire, he said.
And the Danish ambassador was summoned by Iranian diplomacy, Tehran denouncing “the burnings in Europe (which) recall the dark period and the era of ignorance of the Middle Ages”, according to a press release published by the state agency IRNA.
Baghdad also condemned on Saturday “the desecration of the Holy Quran and the Iraqi flag” in Denmark. “These actions provoke reactions and put all parties in delicate situations,” according to a statement from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.
“The Iraqi government guarantees the protection and security provided to the diplomatic teams,” he nevertheless assured.
“We cannot allow a recurrence of what happened with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden.”
Passed in the opposition, the influential religious leader Moqtada Sadr, blows on the embers.
Reacting to the incident in Copenhagen, several hundred of his supporters gathered Saturday night in Baghdad, according to an AFP photographer.
Security forces had blocked two bridges leading to the Green Zone, a secure neighborhood housing government institutions and embassies. But about a thousand demonstrators tried to force their way through and a handful of demonstrators managed to cross an entrance to the Green Zone.
Security forces forced them back, using batons and tear gas, according to a security source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Clashes broke out when the demonstrators were pushed back and dispersed, an official at the Interior Ministry, also on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AFP.
Thursday evening, Mr. Sadr described the burning of the Swedish embassy by his supporters as a “spontaneous and popular act”, warning of a potential “escalation” to come “if ever were to be repeated” such desecrations of the Koran.
Adept at blows, the opponent has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to mobilize his supporters to embarrass his political opponents.
In the summer of 2022, demonstrators supporting him invaded Parliament in Baghdad and set up a sit-in.
22/07/2023 18:28:17 – Baghdad (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
