BAGHDAD, Jan 2 (NNN-NINA) – U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, postpones his trip to Ukraine and four other countries, as the situation in Iraq becomes tense after demonstrators stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
The U.S. embassy announced the suspension of all public consular operations, although the protesters and supporters of the Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi (the Popular Mobilisation Forces) militias were gradually withdrawing from the perimeter of the embassy, hours ago.
The U.S. embassy said, “due to militia attacks at the U.S. embassy, all public consular operations are suspended until further notice. All future appointments are cancelled. U.S. citizens are advised not to approach the embassy.”
The U.S. Consulate General in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, “is open for visa and American citizen services appointments,” according to the statement.
The protest started on Tuesday, when hundreds of mourners, wearing Hashd Shaabi’s military uniforms, rallied outside the embassy, chanting slogans condemning airstrikes by the U.S. forces, against Hashd Shaabi bases.
The protest then turned violent as the protesters managed to break into an outer yard of the embassy, but were repelled by the security forces, who deployed tear gas against them.
Hours after the incident, U.S. Secretary of Defence, Mark Esper, said that, the United States will deploy about 750 troops immediately to the Middle East.
“This deployment is an appropriate and precautionary action, taken in response to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities, such as we witnessed in Baghdad today,” Esper tweeted.
“Secretary Pompeo must postpone his visit to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Cyprus, due to the need for the Secretary to be in Washington, D.C., to continue monitoring the ongoing situation in Iraq,” said Morgan Ortagus, the department’s spokesperson.
Pompeo’s five-day tour was slated to kick off on Friday, with the first stop at Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, where he was scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials.
The protesters, outraged by U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 Hashd Shaabi militants, were gradually leaving the embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, according to media reports.
Earlier Wednesday morning, protesters torched U.S. flags and threw stones towards the compound of the embassy, while security agents inside the embassy fired tear gas and wounded at least 20 people.
Trump blamed Iran for “orchestrating an attack” on the embassy. He later threatened that Iran “will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities.” Pompeo also held Iran “accountable” for the attack on the U.S. embassy.
On Wednesday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry dismissed the allegations, noting that, “U.S. officials had better drop their blame game policy and stop accusing us without presenting any evidence.”– NNN-NINA
