Plans for a 70,000-strong national army for Afghanistan have been outlined by President Hamid Karzai.

Mr Karzai told a meeting of United Nations representatives and donor countries in Germany that the safety of his citizens remained his top priority, and that the new army would be a force loyal solely to his government and the only legal army Afghanistan would recognise.

We have decided to have an army that is small, effective, well paid and in the service of the nation

President Hamid Karzai

The creation of the new Afghan army will mean that all private militias will now be banned.

The Afghan president also announced that four people connected to the leadership of the former Taleban Government have been arrested in south-western Afghanistan.

Mr Karzai did not identify the suspects, but said the Taleban leader, Mullah Omar, was not among them.

"We haven't yet found Mullah Omar, but we have information that he is alive and that he's around that part of the world," he said.

Obstacles

Mr Karzai's announcement came as the forces of rival warlords continued to clash in Afghanistan.

Karzai's army could help unify Afghanistan

Correspondents say the regional fighting underlines Afghanistan's continuing instability and the central government's lack of control outside the capital, Kabul.

The president admitted to delegates in the German city of Bonn that his authority in Afghanistan was limited as many of the country's warlords did not respect his leadership.

Attempts to form a national army have been hampered by a lack of non-partisan army volunteers and problems with convincing Afghanistan's different ethnic factions on how much representation they should have in the army.

Diplomats were given details of Mr Karzai's plans for his country's army of 70,000 troops, including:

• A programme to disarm former Afghan fighters or mujahideen

• A ban on military forces other than the army

• The establishment of three regional commands outside Kabul

So far, about 2,000 troops are reported to have received training from the United States.

The army itself will be largely paid for by the US and British Governments.

Mr Karzai said his government was also working to create a national police force, for which Germany is helping to train officers.

Factional rivalry

UN special envoy for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi told the conference that insecurity - mostly generated by factional rivalry - was hampering reconstruction efforts.

Mr Brahimi acknowledged that Mr Karzai's government did not have the resources to exercise its authority.

The BBC's Baqer Moin says Western governments feel the only way to consolidate Mr Karzai's power is to ensure he has a military force at his disposal to assert the authority of his government.

In western Afghanistan, the forces of ethnic Pashtun commander Amanullah Khan and the rival Tajik governor of Herat, Ismail Khan, pounded each other's positions for a third day near Shindand air base.

Scores of villagers are reported to be fleeing the area - Zer-e-Koh, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of Shindand - amid heavy tank and artillery fire.

On Sunday, a US B-52 bomber dropped seven 900-kilogram (2,000-pound) laser-guided bombs near the frontline of the fighting.

Afghan needs

The Bonn conference comes exactly a year after Afghan and international representatives signed accords establishing the Karzai government and a UN-led peacekeeping force in Kabul.

Aid for Afghanistan

January 2002 - donors pledge $5.2bn spread over five years About $2bn earmarked for 2002 - but more than one-third not disbursed Major donors - US, EU, Japan, Gulf states Afghan ministers say at least $23bn needed over five years

Afghan delegates estimate that at least $23bn will be needed over the next five years to rebuild the country's shattered infrastructure.

As well as security issues, the conference is considering ways of developing financial and justice systems; drawing up a constitution; combating the drugs trade; investigating human rights abuses; and tackling the refugee problem.