Afghan warlords face off on front line
Clashes broke out yesterday about 30 miles west of Mazar-e-Sharif and the town of Maimana. One warring side said the death toll was 60, while the other said it was much lower.
The UN said there were "high numbers of casualties".
"The conflict was very intense with both sides using tanks as well as mortars," said Manoel de Almeida e Silva, the spokesman for the UN mission in Afghanistan.
Mazar-e-Sharif residents said they saw tanks rumbling through the streets yesterday on their way to the battlefield.
In the capital, Kabul, Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said he would lead a government delegation to the city today to meet the warring sides, both of which claim allegiance to President Hamid Karzai.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad said the fighting between warlord Atta Mohammed's Jamiat-e-Islami faction and fighters loyal to northern Uzbek commander Abdul Rashid Dostum "needs to be contained before it spreads".
He said it was not clear what sparked the clashes, but that it was most likely due to disputes over land or access to water, General Abdul Sabur, a spokesman for Atta, said forces from both sides had fortified their positions and were faced off against each other 100 yards apart, with tanks and heavy artillery.
He said that after yesterday's clashes, fighting had not restarted but added ominously: "Peace has gone General Majid Rozi, a Dostum commander, said Atta's forces attacked his troops but they were pushed back and only three Dostum fighters were hurt The fighting came as the Afghan government and the United Nations signed a deal in Kabul paving the way to start a much-delayed programme to disarm militiamen loyal to warlords.
Disarming the tens of thousands of militiamen is essential if the Afghan government is to be able to build a national army. However, convincing the warlords, many of whom are also provincial governors, to agree to surrender their weapons will be a major challenge.
