The situation remains tense here in Baghdad. A day time curfew was announced last night:
Residents reported fierce clashes in at least two areas in and around Baghdad overnight, both in areas where sectarian tensions are exacerbated by communities in close proximity.
Gunmen stormed a house and killed two Shi’ite men and a woman in Latifiya, just outside Baghdad, at dawn on Friday despite the curfew. Two children were wounded in the attack.
The streets of the capital were quiet at mid-morning but residents feared the violence could boil over. A spokesman for radical young Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said his followers planned to march to mosques in his Baghdad stronghold despite the curfew to worship at the weekly midday (0900 GMT) prayers.
The situation is violatile. Iraqi security forces are doing the lion’s share of the hard work now. Iraq’s government is under pressure to show that they can perform. I think this storm will pass. What remains to be seen is how long it will take and how well the government will do. In my time here, I’ve never heard it this quiet.