Iraq in turmoil one year after government formed

Iraq's government marked its first anniversary Wednesday in turmoil as its Sunni vice president disputed charges he ran a hit squad and the US urged calm in a row that has heightened sectarian tensions.

A year after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's unity government was approved by MPs, Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi has holed up in the northern Kurdish region as authorities issued a warrant for his arrest, a Sunni deputy premier faces the sack, and the main Sunni bloc has boycotted cabinet and parliament.

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-reliant Iraq."

But on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden held a telephone call with Maliki, urging him to work with other parties to resolve the worsening crisis that threatens Iraq's fragile political truce.

Biden spoke by phone with Maliki and with parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi "to discuss the current political climate in Baghdad," the White House said. Read More