Afghan warlords turn on each other
Fighting raged today between rival Afghan warlords - both of them officials in the interim government.
A local commander said at least six fighters were killed and 15 were wounded.
The clashes began in towns near the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, after fighters loyal to General Abdul Rashid Dostum refused to leave after a military parade, said Ashraf Nadim, spokesman for rival General Atta Mohammed.
Nadim said Dostum’s fighters attacked Atta’s men. The generals spoke by radio and by phone and negotiated a ceasefire yesterday, he said.
But fighting continued today in Sare Pul, 75 miles southwest of Mazar-e-Sharif where Atta’s local commander said his side suffered six dead and 15 wounded.
Nadim said earlier that a total of 12 people were killed or wounded, but did not have a breakdown.
Dostum, a warlord known for his brutal control of Mazar-e-Sharif, has recently tried to recast himself as a man of peace, trading in his military fatigues for a business suit.
He is the interim government’s deputy defence minister.
Atta was one of the top generals in the Northern Alliance and the interim government appointed him as military commander of four northern provinces.
