Moqtada al-Sadr's moment? Iraqi cleric in show of force against Shiite rivals

His followers braved bullets and took a leaf out of Sri Lanka's recent uprising by storming government house and taking a dive in its giant Saddam Hussein-era pool. Now, after Monday's euphoria and bloodshed, comes a sudden cooling off. What's next?

Will the showdown between Iraq's Shiites break a ten-month-old stalemate in forming a government and has the spectre of civil war dissipated for good? Can nationalist and pro-Tehran rivals afford to play with fire after seeing off the 2019 uprising from the Shiite heartland that challenged the corruption and mismanagement of the status quo? 

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Juliette Laurain and Imen Mellaz.

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