About 20 people were killed and dozens wounded, when thousands of powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's angry followers stormed the government palace in Baghdad, after his announcement that he would resign from politics on August 29. They fled the building after security forces fired tear gas canisters and bullets in the air to disperse the protesters. The clashes sparked fears that violence could erupt in the country that's already beset by its worst political crisis in years.