State Secretary Mike Pompeo delayed a scheduled visit to Ukraine in order to resolve the current developments out of Baghdad.
“Secretary Pompeo must postpone his visit to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Cyprus due to the need for the Secretary to be in Washington, D.C., 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 said in a statement. “Secretary Pompeo’s trip will be rescheduled in the near future and he looks forward to the visit at that time.”
According to CNN, after the second day of protests, a spokesperson of State Department informed that “the situation around Embassy Baghdad has improved,” but that efforts by Iraqi government security forces “to clear militia members from the area immediately surrounding the embassy continue.”
“As of Wednesday evening, most individuals have left the immediate area,” the spokesperson said. “Though the situation around the Embassy perimeter has calmed significantly, post-security posture remains heightened.”
Iraqi security forces regained control of the area around the U.S. Embassy on Wednesday after paramilitary groups asked their supporters to “withdraw.” A spokesperson for Kataib Hezbollah told CNN, “We have issued the order for everyone to withdraw because America should have received our message.”
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