Pompeo defers Ukraine trip after US embassy attack in Iraq

Protesters leave embassy

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday postponed a trip to Ukraine, the country at the heart of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, after an attack on the American embassy in Iraq, the State Department announced.Pompeo had been due to travel at week's end to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus.But on Tuesday, a mob of pro-Iran demonstrators stormed the US embassy in Baghdad over American airstrikes that killed two dozen paramilitary fighters.

Pompeo's travel was pushed back "due to the need for the secretary to be in Washington, DC to continue monitoring the ongoing situation in Iraq and ensure the safety and security of Americans in the Middle East," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus announced. "Secretary Pompeo's trip will be rescheduled in the near future and he looks forward to the visit at that time," she added.

The trip would have made Pompeo the most senior US official to visit Kiev since a scandal erupted in 2019 over a controversial phone call in which Trump allegedly tried to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to find dirt on Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden.

Pompeo, a staunch Trump defender, was set to meet with Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials, Ortagus said Monday when the trip was first announced. But the following day, the embassy in Baghdad was besieged. Demonstrators finally left yesterday after the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force ordered them to withdraw a day after their dramatic incursion. No US personnel got injured in the attack and the US officials said that they had no plans to evacuate.

Earlier, thousands of Iraqi supporters of the largely Iranian-trained Hashed had encircled and vandalised the embassy compound Tuesday, outraged by US air strikes that killed 25 Hashed fighters over the weekend. They marched unimpeded through the checkpoints of the usually high-security Green Zone to the embassy gates, where they broke through a reception area, chanting “Death to America” and spraying pro-Iran graffiti on the walls.

Iraq’s caretaker premier Adel Abdel Mahdi called on the angry crowd to leave the embassy but most spent the night in dozens of tents set up outside the perimeter wall.

Yesterday morning, crowds of men brandished the Hashed’s colours, torched US flags and hurled rocks towards the compound. Security personnel inside responded with tear gas, wounding at least 20 people, the Hashed said.

By the afternoon, the Hashed called on its supporters to leave the embassy and regroup outside the Green Zone “out of respect for the state.” “You delivered your message,” it said in a statement. AFP’s photographer saw protesters dismantling their tents and leaving the Green Zone.

“We burned them!” they said, streaming back out of checkpoints they had breezed through on Tuesday. Kataeb Hezbollah, the group targeted in the US raids, initially told AFP it would stay at the embassy.

 

Pompeo defers Ukraine trip after US embassy attack in Iraq

Protesters leave embassy

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday postponed a trip to Ukraine, the country at the heart of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, after an attack on the American embassy in Iraq, the State Department announced.Pompeo had been due to travel at weeks end to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus.But on Tuesday, a mob of pro-Iran demonstrators stormed the US embassy in Baghdad over American airstrikes that killed two dozen paramilitary fighters. Pompeos travel was pushed back due to the need for the secretary to be in Washington, DC to continue monitoring the ongoing situation in Iraq and ensure the safety and security of Americans in the Middle East, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus announced. Secretary Pompeos trip will be rescheduled in the near future and he looks forward to the visit at that time, she added. The trip would have made Pompeo the most senior US official to visit Kiev since a scandal erupted in 2019 over a controversial phone call in which Trump allegedly tried to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to find dirt on Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden. Pompeo, a staunch Trump defender, was set to meet with Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials, Ortagus said Monday when the trip was first announced. But the following day, the embassy in Baghdad was besieged. Demonstrators finally left yesterday after the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force ordered them to withdraw a day after their dramatic incursion. No US personnel got injured in the attack and the US officials said that they had no plans to evacuate. Earlier, thousands of Iraqi supporters of the largely Iranian-trained Hashed had encircled and vandalised the embassy compound Tuesday, outraged by US air strikes that killed 25 Hashed fighters over the weekend. They marched unimpeded through the checkpoints of the usually high-security Green Zone to the embassy gates, where they broke through a reception area, chanting Death to America and spraying pro-Iran graffiti on the walls. Iraqs caretaker premier Adel Abdel Mahdi called on the angry crowd to leave the embassy but most spent the night in dozens of tents set up outside the perimeter wall. Yesterday morning, crowds of men brandished the Hasheds colours, torched US flags and hurled rocks towards the compound. Security personnel inside responded with tear gas, wounding at least 20 people, the Hashed said. By the afternoon, the Hashed called on its supporters to leave the embassy and regroup outside the Green Zone out of respect for the state. You delivered your message, it said in a statement. AFPs photographer saw protesters dismantling their tents and leaving the Green Zone. We burned them! they said, streaming back out of checkpoints they had breezed through on Tuesday. Kataeb Hezbollah, the group targeted in the US raids, initially told AFP it would stay at the embassy.