The Federal Defense Minister actually wanted to visit Iraq, but the Federal Criminal Police Office advises against it: the situation is too uncertain as a result of the protests against defamation of the Koran in Scandinavia.
A trip to Iraq by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) was canceled at short notice on Sunday due to security concerns. After the violent riots against the Swedish embassy in the capital Baghdad, the Federal Criminal Police Office advised against the trip, according to the Defense Ministry in Berlin. According to German authorities, further protests and an aggravation of the situation cannot be ruled out. The decision was also made to protect the staff of the German representation in Baghdad.
The burning of a copy of the Koran and another denigration of the Holy Scriptures of Islam in Sweden have repeatedly led to protests and riots in Iraq in recent weeks. A few days ago, demonstrators broke into the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and set it on fire. The man who set fire to the Koran in Stockholm is a native of Iraq. After an Islamophobic action in Denmark, offices of the Danish Refugee Agency in the Iraqi province of Basra were also attacked on Saturday.
Source: Stern
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