Today, Thursday, the Swedish authorities raised the level of alert for “terrorist” attacks to its second highest level, while the head of the security apparatus confirmed that the security situation in the country had worsened in the wake of the burning of the Holy Qur’an.
And the Swedish Security Service (Sabo) announced that the alert status had been raised from the third to the fourth level on a 5-level scale, which reflects the seriousness of the threat.
“A single event did not cause the decision to raise the level, but we know that Hezbollah, Al-Shabab, and Al-Qaeda called on their supporters to carry out actions against Sweden,” said the head of the agency, Charlotte von Essen, during a joint press conference with the Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Chief of Police.
For his part, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christerson said that people were arrested in Sweden and abroad, after planning attacks were monitored and thwarted.
He added – without going into the details of those supposed schemes – “I understand that many Swedes are worried, but we must live our lives as usual, we must defend our lives and our way of life.”
The Swedish armed forces had also raised the level of alert to face threats, and Britain and the United States had warned their nationals not to travel to Sweden.
In Sweden and Denmark, incidents of insulting the Qur’an in front of mosques and embassies of Islamic countries have been repeated recently, which sparked widespread anger in the Islamic world, and prompted some capitals to summon diplomats from the two countries. To register a formal objection.
On July 25, the United Nations adopted a consensus resolution, drafted by Morocco, condemning all acts of violence against the holy books as a violation of international law.
