At least three people were killed in western Afghanistan during a turf war between rival commanders, officials said on Sunday. Forces of Ibrahim Malikzada, governor of Ghor province, launched attacks overnight on Chesht district of neighbouring Herat province in an attempt to dislodge the local commander, said Ghulam Hazrat, police chief of the area. Malikzada's forces were beaten back, Hazrat said. Three of its fighters were killed and three were wounded, he said. But Malikzada's spokesman denied his forces had attacked the district, located 70 km (40 miles) east of Herat. "It was a peoples' uprising against the local authorities," said Ahmad Ayoubi, the spokesman. In June, Malikzada was forced to flee Ghor after clashes with the rival commanders and the Kabul government ordered the Afghan army to restore order. But fighting has started again. President Hamid Karzai's government is not just fighting the ousted Afghan Taliban militia, but also striving to end hostilities and fighting among the regional commanders to restore peace in this war-battered central Asian state. But the security situation has been deteriorating in the run up to the first presidential poll in October.
