The Bahraini Foreign Ministry announced that it had summoned its ambassador to Iraq to consult after hundreds of angry Iraqis stormed the Bahraini embassy in Baghdad to denounce the Manama conference on the Palestinian issue. The Iraqi government has promised to hold the embassy accountable.
The demonstrators removed the Bahraini flag from the top of the embassy building before lifting the Iraqi and Palestinian flag in its place. They also burned the American and Israeli flags and denounced the role played by some Arab countries in holding the Bahrain conference.
Witnesses said security forces dispersed the demonstrators and drove them out of the embassy courtyard at midnight.
Later, a Bahraini foreign ministry statement said Manama had summoned its ambassador to Iraq for consultations after the event.
According to Al-Jazeera correspondent, the Iraqi government expressed deep regret for the acts of sabotage as described, and vowed to hold accountable the perpetrators.
The Interior Minister, who was appointed three days ago, visited the Bahraini embassy after the demonstrations to learn about the security situation. The Interior Ministry also confirmed the arrest of 54 demonstrators.
In an interview conducted by Al-Jazeera correspondent, a spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said that there was contact with the Bahraini government, stressing the existence of "understanding" and an agreement to contain what happened.
Iraq did not participate in the Bahrain conference, and several Iraqi political parties expressed their rejection of the conference, which ended on Wednesday night, where Washington witnessed the launch of the economic aspect of its plan for peace in the Middle East.