Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki on Wednesday called on authorities in the autonomous Kurdish region to hand over Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi, who is wanted on allegations of running a death squad. “We call for the government of the Kurdistan region to take its responsibility and hand over Hashemi to the justice system,” Maliki told a news conference in Baghdad. ” Maliki also rejected Hashemi's calls for Arab League representatives to observe the investigation and any questioning, telling reporters: “This is a criminal case, and there is no need for the Arab League and the world to have a role in this.” His remarks came as Iraq's government marked its first anniversary in turmoil, as Hashemi rejected charges he ran a hit squad, while the United States has urged calm in a row that has heightened sectarian tensions. Officials issued the warrant for Hashemi's arrest on Monday, after earlier banning him from travelling overseas. At least 13 of the vice president's bodyguards have been detained in recent weeks, security officials have said, although it was unclear how many remain in custody. Hashemi's office said only three were arrested, and has complained of “intentional harassment” in the form of blockade of his home by security forces for several weeks, as well as other incidents.Washington has urged calm, but Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened to replace ministers belonging to the Iraqiya bloc if they did not end a cabinet boycott, while Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, currently holed up in the autonomous Kurdish region, rejected claims he ran a death squad. Lawmakers are also due to consider a call from Maliki to sack Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak on January 3, who has decried the national unity government as a “dictatorship”. All this comes just days after US troops completed their withdrawal from the country, leaving behind what US President Barack Obama described as a “sovereign, stable, and self
