DOHA, Qatar, April 1 (UPI) -- The fugitive Sunni vice president of Iraq left the country Sunday to visit Qatar, drawing criticism from Iraqi government officials.
Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi fled to the semiautonomous Kurdish region of Iraq in December after he was accused of using his bodyguards as a personal death squad, The New York Times reported.
"How could they let him leave?" questioned Ali al-Moussawi, an adviser to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. "He is prevented from traveling. This is a violation. And receiving him in Qatar is a violation."
Hashimi is scheduled to be in Qatar for several days for a diplomatic meeting with the Qatari emir and prime minister, the Qatar News Agency reported. Visits to a few other unspecified countries are also planned before a trip back to Iraqi Kurdistan.
His return could stir new tension at the Kurdish-run airport in the region's northern capital of Erbil, the Times said. Maliki said Sunday Iraq's central government is the only entity that can control the country's airports, borders and airspace.
