Iraq condemns burning of Quran, Iraqi flag in Denmark

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has condemned the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book Quran and the Iraqi flag by members of an extremist group in Denmark. “The actions fuel reactions and put all parties in critical positions,” the Ministry said on Saturday in a statement, adding it would follow up on the developments of these “heinous incidents”. The Ministry called on the international community “to stand up urgently and responsibly against these atrocities that threaten social peace and co-existence around the world”. In the early hours of Saturday, dozens of angry demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad to protest against the burning of the Quran and the Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen on Friday, a source from the Interior Ministry told Xinhua news agency. The demonstrators tried to cross the nearby al-Jumhouriyah bridge to reach the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses some of the main government headquarters and some foreign embassies. But the riot police fired tear gas to prevent them from crossing the bridge, the source said. He added that the security forces tightened measures and blocked the bridge and other main roads leading to the zone to keep the demonstrators in Tahrir Square away from the embassies and government institutions, Xinhua news agency reported. Later, the Ministry issued another statement reassuring diplomatic missions of their security, saying “the Iraqi government is fully committed to the Vienna Convention that regulates diplomatic relations among countries and assures all resident diplomatic missions of their security and protection”.