Thousands of protesters and militia have gathered on Tuesday in front of the main gate of the complex of the Embassy of united States in Baghdad to condemn the bombing of Washington in the border syrian-iraqi against a faction proiraní it accuses of violating repeatedly against u.s. interests in Iraq. The air attacks ceased in the evening of Sunday, at least 25 iraqi fighters killed and 51 wounded, and have caused a wave of indignation in the arab country that has left in the background the spontaneous rebellion against the political class and their major mentor, Iran, and revived also the sentiment against the american presence.
Thousands of demonstrators passed through the checkpoints that normally restrict access to the green area of high security, where is the Embassy, shouting “death to America”. The special forces of safety of Iraq were deployed in front of the doors of the building to prevent the entrance of the building. The protesters burned then american flags and ripped out the security cameras. The ambassador and part of the diplomatic personnel have been evacuated from the Embassy, as has been explained to Reuters two officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs iraqi. Inside the building, according to an official source, remain a member of the security staff.
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An attack of the U.S. against groups proiraníes in Iraq unleashed a wave of indignation
The protesters managed to penetrate the premises of the embassy and burned part of the wall that surrounds them, as well as some cabins and watch towers, while the security guards of the legation are trying to disperse them with tear gas, according to noted photographer of Efe and informs Reuters. In addition, the security personnel of the legation, has launched flash grenades to try to dipersar the protesters, according to Reuters.
The protesters are dressed in the uniform of the fighters of the Forces of Popular Mobilization (FMP), a coalition of paramilitary groups dominated by factions shiites proiraníes belonging to the Brigades of Hezbollah, the faction attacked in the u.s. bombing of last Sunday. The leader of the FMP —also known as Hashd Al-Shaabi—, Qais al-Khazali and other leaders militiamen have joined this mobilization, in which they have been waving flags of the Brigades of Hezbollah as a gesture of support to this party-militia, considered a terrorist organization by the EU and the united States. “Americans are not welcome in Iraq. They are a source of evil and we want them to go,” he told Reuters al-Khazali. The FMP is a coalition of militias —many of them supported by Iran, which was formed to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS, its acronym in English) and that is now integrated into the iraqi security forces.
Some women with flags and iraqi the FMP have also participated in the protest. In the demonstration there were placards that warned, “The Parliament should expel the u.s. troops, if not, we we will miss” or “Close the u.s. Embassy in Baghdad”. The protesters shouted chants such as “the united States is the great Satan” or “oh, no, no to America! No, not Trump!”. The demonstration has also come the number two of the FMP, Jamal Yaafar Ibrahimi, known as Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, according to Reuters.
The bombing, which Washington ordered in retaliation for the death last week of a u.s. contractor in a rocket attack against a base in Iraq, have fueled the anti-us sentiment. The attack that ended the life of the contractor was not claimed by any militia, but the united States, which had already suffered multiple attacks on its interests in Baghdad for the that promised a firm response, it blamed the faction shiite Brigades of Hezbollah.
The political and religious authorities of Iraq condemned and rejected the response of the united STATES and the Government described the action as “a violation of iraqi sovereignty”. For his part, the prominent shi’a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said Monday in a statement that it is willing “to expel” the U.S. in Iraq, “by political and legal means” and, therefore, called for collaboration between institutions and political parties.
