And now it's Shiite vs. Shiite

"Sadrists killing and being killed. All of them Iraqis.

Security forces whose presence invokes fear and distrust. Who can you believe? And what about the civilians caught in the crossfire?

Is the government out to get the outlaws? Or is Badr out to get the Mahdi Army? Who can we believe?

The government says that no weapons are permissible outside the official law enforcing agencies – Wonderful! So good to hear! But who are the people recruited in the security forces? Who does the vetting? What is the criteria? And where did the members of Badr Brigade go??

The whole government is based upon sectarian quota – what would the criteria be?

And so the killing goes on – all of them Iraqis. All neighbours and brothers in law, living side by side peacefully not so long ago.

First it was Sunni vs. Shiite, although the conflict was about supremacy, power and oil revenues and never about religious issues at any stage.

Now, it's Shiite fighting Shiite. And a flow of a deep dark fear of the "other" that never existed before spreads.

My friends – my neighbours – our families and colleagues are mostly either Sunni or Shiite. This rift is rending the very fabric of our society – and it hurts to see the expression on the faces of people you've known for ages start to change, and harder still to feel that the trust is being very slowly – but very surely, withdrawn.

This strife is imported – as is our democracy.

And I doubt that it will ever really heal."
Inside Iraq