Iraq: Sectarian Tensions Rise as Authorities Seek Arrest of Sunni VP

December 20, 2011 from Euronews

In Iraq, there are fresh fears of a rise in sectarian violence after authorities issued an arrest warrant for the Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi -- who is a political rival of the Shia prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. Hashemi has been accused of running a hit squad that assassinated government and security officials. The warrant for Iraq's highest ranking Sunni official was issued a day after US troops left the country prompting the White House to express its concern.

(more) (less)

In This Video

Tariq al-Hashemi

Tariq al-Hashimi is an Iraqi politician who served as the general secretary of the Iraqi Islamic Party until May 2009. Along with Adil Abdul-Mahdi, he served as the Vice President of Iraq in the government formed after the December 2005 elections for five years. He has been se... Explore this topic

Iraq

Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia encompassing the Mesopotamian alluvial plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the... Explore this topic

Arrest warrant

An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of one's property. Explore this topic

Sectarian Violence

Sectarian violence and/or sectarian strife is violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation/community. Religious segregation often plays a role in sectarian violence. Explore this topic

Withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

The withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq was started in June 2009 and was completed by December 2011, bringing an end to the Iraq War. The withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq was a contentious issue within the United States for much of the 2000s, being... Explore this topic

Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki, also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as P... Explore this topic

Politics of Iraq

The politics of Iraq takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. It is a multi-party system whereby the executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, as well as the Presid... Explore this topic

Shia Islam

The Shia represent the largest schismatic sect in Islam, accounting for 10-20% of the world's normative body of Muslims. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatul ʻAlī, meaning "followers", "faction", or "par... Explore this topic

Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam; its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, "people of the tradition of Muhammad and the consensus of the Ummah" or ahl as-sunnah. For short, in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites or... Explore this topic

US-Iraq relations

Iraq–United States relations are the diplomatic relations between Iraq and the United States. Explore this topic

Also See

Tariq al-Hashemi

Iraq

Arrest warrant

Watch Next

4:48

Iraq: Scores Killed in Wave of Car Bomb Attacks

Al Jazeera English | Jun 13

At least 66 people have been killed in 16 separate attacks across the country, including 10 explosions in Baghdad. Many of the dead are Shia pilgri...