ASTANA, Aug 21: Inter-factional rivalry in must be curbed in Afghanistan, or it will undermine the government of President Hamid Karzai, US Central Command chief General Tommy Franks warned on Wednesday.

The security situation in Afghanistan is under threat as various groups inside the country continue to vie for power, Franks — the commander of US forces in Afghanistan during last year’s operation there — said after talks in the capital of Kazakhstan with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

“And so the process as we move forward will need to address the stability situation in Afghanistan,” he said.

Concern is growing that the Karzai administration is being undermined by the deteriorating security situation in the country, as former warlords exercising personal influence in their regional fiefdoms seek to defy the central authority.

Franks said he believed that the international community would continue to work with Karzai’s government in the years ahead to deal with the security situation.

He said the international coalition formed last year to oust the Taliban should help the Afghan government to grow to lead the country.

“The process of our coalition... will be to work with this transitional administration that we see in Afghanistan to provide for its ability to mature so that it can lead the country,” he said.

Franks was visiting Kazakhstan to thank the central Asian country for allowing US and other coalition war planes to use Almaty international airport for emergency landings and refuelling operations for their missions over Afghanistan.

Astana and Washington signed a memorandum last month authorizing planes of the “anti-terrorist” coalition, particularly US planes, to use the airport in emergency situations.

Kazakh officials revealed that a coalition transport plane requested permission to land overnight at Shymkent airport, in southern Kazakhstan, due to lack of fuel.—AFP