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22-07-2023
BAGHDAD: The Swedish embassy in Iraq is temporarily moving operations to Stockholm, the country’s foreign ministry has said, a day after it was attacked in protest against a second event held to desecrate the Quran in Sweden.
“The embassy’s operations and its expatriate staff have been temporarily relocated to Stockholm for security reasons,” the foreign ministry said on Friday.
Hundreds of Iraqis, mainly followers of the populist Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, stormed the embassy in central Baghdad early on Thursday and set it on fire. The Iraqi government later expelled the Swedish ambassador.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that the storming of the embassy was “completely unacceptable” and that government strongly rejected desecrations of the Quran or any other holy scripture.
“The Swedish Government understands that the despicable acts committed by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden may be offensive to Muslims,” he said in a statement.
The embassy’s move also comes as the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson said it was looking into reports that Iraq had suspended the work permits of its employees.
Iraqi state media reported on Thursday that Baghdad suspended the permits in protest against the Quran desecration event, but on Friday the Iraqi prime minister’s foreign affairs advisor Farhad Alaadin said that Ericsson had not been suspended.
“All contractual agreements made by the government of Iraq will be respected and no company have been suspended from its work, including Ericsson,” Alaaldin said.
A spokesperson for the company said the incidents in Sweden were “deeply offensive to the religious beliefs and values cherished by Muslims around the world” and did “not reflect Ericsson’s core value of respect.”
Ericsson has about 30 full-time employees in Iraq, whose safety is the company’s top priority, they added.
“We respect all cultures and religions, and we place great importance on respecting our customers and our employees and the communities in which we operate,” the spokesperson said. (Int’l News Desk)
