German Defence Minister Cancels Iraq Journey Over Protests

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has cancelled a deliberate journey to Iraq and Jordan, a ministry spokesperson mentioned on Sunday, citing safety issues after the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad was set alight final week in a protest over Koran burnings.

On Saturday, a number of thousand Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad over the current burning or damaging of the Koran throughout anti-Islam protests in Sweden and Denmark.

The cancellation of Pistorius’ journey, which was presupposed to final for a number of days, was additionally in response to violent protests towards a Danish non-governmental organisation in Iraq, the spokesperson mentioned.

This, together with the danger of additional protests in coming days, prompted German safety forces to advise on cancelling the journey, the spokesperson mentioned, including it might happen at a later date, presumably through the fourth quarter of the 12 months.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Modifying by Frances Kerry)

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