At least six people were killed and more than a dozen wounded today in factional fighting in northern Afghanistan.
The clashes broke out between supporters of Uzbek warlord Gen Abdul Rashid Dostam and those of Gen Atta Mohammad, with both sides using mortars and rockets, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press said.
Fighting is continuing at Qala Sheher mountain in the province of Sar-i-Pul, the agency said. It had no information on the cause of the clash.
Gen Dostam and Gen Atta, who is a commander in the Jamiat Islami party of former Afghan president Mr Burhanuddin Rabbani, had sent some 200 men from nearby Mazar-i-Sharif to disarm the rival factions.
Afghanistan's northern regions are still ruled by Gen Dostam, a former communist defence minister in the recent interim cabinet, and by Gen Atta.
The country has ratified the Ottawa Convention banning the use of anti-personnel landmines and will fully join the treaty next March.
AFP