A number of the participants had attended a funeral service for some of the militia fighters killed in American airstrikes on Sunday. At least 25 members of paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah died and more than 50 others were wounded.
The marchers carried Iraqi flags and banners belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), of which Kataib Hezbollah is a part. Many demanded the expulsion of US forces from the country.
Some threw stones at the gate, while others chanted, “No, no, America! ... No, no, Trump!” Iraqi special forces were deployed around the main gate to prevent them entering the embassy, according to Reuters.
Iraqi special forces were deployed around the main gate to prevent them entering the embassy, which were later soined by the elite Counterterrorism Service.
Medical sources said 12 militiamen were wounded by the tear gas and stun grenades fired to disperse the crowd, according to Reuters.
Several hours after the incident began, caretaker Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi called on the crowd to disperse.
“Iraqi security forces will respond to any act of aggression or harassment against foreign embassies in Iraq, and those responsible will face the full force of the law,” his office said in a tweet.
Photos from early on in the incident showed that Fateh Alliance leader Hadi al-Amri, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais Al Khazali, and Kataib Hezbollah commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes were in the crowd. All are prominent Shia politicians with close ties to or direct involvement in the PMF.
“Americans are unwanted in Iraq. They are a source of evil and we want them to leave,” Khazali told Reuters.
For the last three months, Iraqis have been protesting across the Tigris River, blocked by the security forces from entering the Green Zone, where numerous government ministries and foreign embassies are located. Despite several attempts to occupy the bridges leading to that part of the capital, the protesters were never allowed to enter.
Those protests are separate from the events in the Green Zone on Tuesday, with protest leaders vocally rejecting involvement from PMF members.
On Tuesday afternoon, protesters in Tahrir Square released a statement explicitly distancing themselves from the events at the embassy.
Nearly 500 people have died and 17,000 people have been wounded since the protests began on October 1.
Reporter's code: 50101