One valley, two militia factions and thousands upon thousands of weapons. This explosive combination - which led to deadly clashes this week in Karnai village on the Balkh River - can be seen in various forms across northern Afghanistan as armed groups that united to help defeat the Taliban are apparently sliding back into their former rivalries. The dozens of reported recent skirmishes, which couldn't all be confirmed independently, are still small compared with Afghanistan's legacy of brutal civil conflict.
But some people worry the clashes could be the opening act of another bloody drama. Such fears were stoked in eastern Afghanistan following heavy factional fighting in Gardez.

Each new flashpoint also raises more questions about the northern warlords' commitment to disarm and whether stability is possible without a full-scale international peacekeeping mission that reaches well beyond the capital, Kabul.
"Foreign troops must come to take away the weapons. It's the only way to bring peace," said Gul Ahmad, a member of a volunteer security brigade in Karnai that negotiated a truce after battles Tuesday between forces aligned with the region's most powerful commanders: Gen. Rashid Dostum and Atta Mohammad. Two of Dostum's militiamen were killed. Bureau Report