MAZAR-I-SHARIF, April 11: Up to five people were injured and two killed when troops of a powerful warlord blamed for a resurgence in provincial unrest clashed with rivals in northern Afghanistan, military commanders said on Sunday.

The skirmishes, involving forces of ethnic Uzbek strong man Abdul Rashid Dostam, took place late Saturday in Kod-i-Barq, 20 kilometres south of the main northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Accounts of the fighting varied, with Dostam's deputy Majit Roozi claiming two dead and five injured while blaming the clashes on troops loyal to the Uzbek warlord's regional rival, ethnic Tajik Atta Mohammed. Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal said he could not confirm the casualties or cause of the fighting.

The latest violence follows a 500-strong Afghan National Army deployment to nearby northern Faryab province to restore law and order after Dostam's men reportedly overran the city of Meymanah earlier this week.

That incident raised fresh headaches for the government of President Hamid Karzai, struggling to rein in regional militias while attempting to tackle Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters with the aid of US-led forces.

Atta Mohammed's spokesman put the casualties in Saturday's clashes at just four injured, blaming Dostam's forces for launching the offensive. "Last night Dostam's troops attacked Kod-i-Barq trying to capture the area," said Mohammad Shafi, one of Mohammad's military commanders.

"Our troops resisted and pushed back Dostam's troops," he said, adding that the fighting lasted several hours and involved heavy weaponry on both sides. Soldiers loyal to Mohammad and Dostam, who have been engaged in a sporadic power struggle in the north since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban regime, have clashed at regular intervals, despite ongoing attempts to disarm militiamen.

Schools, shops and other public institutions in Kod-i-Barq, previously under joint control by both men, were closed on Sunday as a result of the fighting. However, according to Mohammed Feroz, an official of Dostam's militia, the Kod-i-Barq homes of several commanders, including the Uzbek general, had been looted.

UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva confirmed there had been fighting on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif but said it was not thought to be serious. Meanwhile, north western Faryab province remained calm on Sunday, despite the recent violence that forced the provincial governor and other officials to flee with the assistance of British soldiers. -AFP