Up to 50 people have been killed or wounded in fighting between rival factions in the north of Afghanistan, according to leaders of the groups. Troops loyal to the warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum clashed with those of rival chief, Ustad Mohammad Atta, on Wednesday.
The fighting took place around the town of Fayzabad, 60 kilometres west of Mazar-e-Sharif.
Mr Atta, head of the mainly Tajik Jamiat faction, said 50 of his forces were killed or wounded
A spokesman for the Uzbek General Dostum said a commander, Mohammad Andh Khooei, and three of his bodyguards were killed.
Both Mr Atta and General Dostum are advisers to the government of President Hamid Karzai.
Curfew declared
In neighbouring Fariab province, two soldiers loyal to Mr Atta were reported killed.
The governor of Fariab province, Enayatullah Enayat, said the fighting was linked to accusations that Mr Atta's troops had taken two of General Dostum's commanders prisoner on Sunday.
The security commander in Mazar-e-Sharif, Mohammad Iftikhari, told the Reuters news agency he was declaring a curfew from 9pm.
The clashes were thought to be some of the worst in the north since the overthrow of the Taleban in December 2001.
They come as Mr Karzai struggles to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate tens of thousands of warlord-led private militias in a step towards a multi-ethnic Afghan army.
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