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RSS In Baghdad's Sadr City today, once again, street vendors line the sidewalk with colorful shirts and shoes. Vegetable markets, once again, have fresh limes and produce. Maliki Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talks to the media during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, unseen, following their meeting at NATO headquarter in Brussels, Thursday April 17, 2008. "There are no injured people in this hospital," says Jabber Shanshal, an Iraqi nurse, drawing a stark contrast with the situation more than two months ago, when heavy fighting took place in the Shiite suburb of almost three million people. The residents of Sadr City have been longtime followers of the firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr and his 60,000-strong Mahdi militia. He and his fighters staunchly oppose the US military presence in Iraq and have frequently targeted US troops across the country. Last week, al Sadr's representatives and the main Shiite political party here signed a cease-fire agreement.
WATCH: Celebrating Memorial Day in Iraq And at sunrise on May 20, a legion of Iraqi soldiers cautiously marched into Sadr City. Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki had ordered the thousands of soldiers into the Shiite enclave as part of "Operation Peace." "Now, we feel safe and stable," said Ayad Abbas, a Sadr City resident. Normally unsure of the Mahdi army's volatility, Iraqi Army soldiers embraced their welcome. We are here to serve the people," said Salam Aaref, an Iraqi major. And Maliki was seen as the strong leader he's frequently failed to be in the past -- taking on the unpredictable Sadr and his Mahdi army.
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