VOA News
06 Jul 2003, 14:55 UTC
The United Nations says it has brokered a ceasefire in a northern Afghanistan district, after nine days of sporadic fighting between two rival warlords left at least six people dead.
The fighting pitted forces loyal to ethnic Uzbek warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum against those of ethnic Tajik commander Atta Mohammad. A U.N. Assistance Mission statement Sunday said the ceasefire covers the Dihdadi district of Balkh province.
The statement says mediators are also attempting to quell armed flare-ups between the two rival militias in Samangan province, where Western news reports say at least three people were killed today in factional fighting.
General Dostam and Atta Mohammad are both members of the Afghan transitional government. But their followers have clashed repeatedly in the north, since they joined forces in 2001 to drive the Taleban regime from power. Several earlier factional truces have collapsed.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
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