At least 30 people, both al-Sadr's loyalists and Iraqi security forces, were killed, and over 400 people were wounded after trading fire for hours this week when supporters of populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr clashed with Iraqi security forces inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq's government. And while Al-Sadr called on his supporters to stand down, the threat of more clashes looms as the political rivalry between al-Sadr and his Iran-backed rivals in the Coordination Framework have not been settled. As Iraq remains in a nearly year-long veritable political vacuum, FRANCE 24 is joined by Hamzeh Hadad, Visiting Fellow with the Middle East and North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "We've seen it before with Muqtada al-Sadr," explains Mr. Hadad. "He always causes an uproar and then takes a step back, backtracks on what he says." But this week's breach of the Green Zone and the ensuing deadly clashes "was a very scary moment for Iraqis." Mr. Hadad asserts that "long government formations aren't new in Iraq but the escalation into violence is something that is, and is dangerous. And, of course, that also erodes the trust of citizens."


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