US Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Iraq to solve a crisis triggered by the barring of hundreds of election candidates linked to Saddam Hussein from parliamentary elections due in March.
The decision to exclude candidates linked to Saddam Hussein's Baath party has outraged Sunnis who dominated Iraq for more than two decades. They say they are being marginalised.
Over 500 candidates have been banned, most of them are Shiites. In all, some 6,500 candidates are standing for election. It's expected more candidates will be barred for other reasons.
Mr Biden is to meet with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani in a bid to broker a compromise. Most Sunnis also boycotted the last national elections, held in 2005.
US Vice President Joe Biden (Photo: Wikipedia)
US Vice President Joe Biden (Photo: Wikipedia)
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