BAGHDAD, June 10: Kurdish officials said on Thursday Iraq's deputy prime minister, Barham Saleh, had left Baghdad for the northern Kurdish town of Sulaimaniyah after a row with premier Iyad Allawi.

Mr Saleh is charged with security in Iraq's newly appointed interim government but is unhappy about his job's lack of clear responsibilities, and he refuses to be a token, they said.

"Saleh told Allawi in a cabinet meeting that he was not going to take a meaningless role just to have a seat in the new government," the official said. -AFP