People protest against Charlie Hebdo outside French embassy
More than a hundred people protested outside French embassy in Iraqi capital Baghdad Thursday against Charlie Hebdo magazine. Charlie Hebdo is the magazine that had published controversial cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in 2015. This had resulted in an attack at its Paris headquarters five years ago.
Charlie Hebdo republished the controversial cartoons earlier this month as alleged accomplices of the attackers faced trial.
On Thursday, around 150 protesters, women and children included, gathered at the gates of the French embassy in east Baghdad and staged protest.
"We denounce the repeated insults from the French media against our prophet," read one banner, in Arabic.
Iraqi security forces carrying riot shields were deployed in large numbers at the embassy gates, but the protest lasted less than half an hour and remained peaceful.
Twelve people, including some of France's most celebrated cartoonists, were killed on January 7, 2015, when brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi went on a gun rampage at the paper's offices in Paris.
Images of the prophet are banned in Islam.
Diplomatic missions in Iraq have faced a slew of armed attacks in recent weeks.
Late Monday, two Katyusha rockets were fired at the US embassy in the high-security Green Zone, on the opposite bank of the Tigris from the French embassy.
The embassy's C-RAM rocket defense system shot both down, security sources told AFP.
Hours later, an improvised explosive device targeted a British embassy vehicle returning from Baghdad airport.
On Thursday, around 150 protesters, women and children included, gathered at the gates of the French embassy in east Baghdad and staged protest.
"We denounce the repeated insults from the French media against our prophet," read one banner, in Arabic.
Iraqi security forces carrying riot shields were deployed in large numbers at the embassy gates, but the protest lasted less than half an hour and remained peaceful.
Twelve people, including some of France's most celebrated cartoonists, were killed on January 7, 2015, when brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi went on a gun rampage at the paper's offices in Paris.
Images of the prophet are banned in Islam.
Diplomatic missions in Iraq have faced a slew of armed attacks in recent weeks.
Late Monday, two Katyusha rockets were fired at the US embassy in the high-security Green Zone, on the opposite bank of the Tigris from the French embassy.
The embassy's C-RAM rocket defense system shot both down, security sources told AFP.
Hours later, an improvised explosive device targeted a British embassy vehicle returning from Baghdad airport.
