In the back room of a Mosque in Baghdad, six members of the Fedayeen are being held prisoner. They have been severely beaten and are clearly frightened. But their captors are not coalition forces or policemen. They're being detained by the local Shi'ite cleric - Sheik Saeed. "Those Fedayeen who killed will be killed and those who didn't will be held to account," he proclaims. Saeed's supporters govern everything in Sadr City from the traffic flow to the hospitals and clinics. They were even able to persuade looters to return stolen goods. Now American troops no longer bother patrolling this area, preferring to concentrate on the middle class suburbs that house most of Saddam's former supporters. Baghdad has effectively been split into two cities. However, control of Sadr City may not be enough and the Shi'ites are already impatient for American withdrawal. "If the American army becomes an occupier, it will face real Iraqi fighting," predicts Saeed: "I'll wire myself and my children with explosives and blow up American forces if they don't leave."

Produced by SBS Australia