KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Two powerful regional leaders in Afghanistan agreed to unite their forces in a deal with President Hamid Karzai's government, a report said Sunday.
The agreement is between Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum and Gen. Ata Muhammad, whose forces have clashed repeatedly in factional fighting, the BBC reported.
Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek and one of the most powerful leaders in northern Afghanistan, is also Karzai's special representative there.
Mohammed, an ethnic Tajik, is a regional army commander with close ties to the defense minister.
Their agreement to merge their forces will help Karzai whose forces control little territory beyond the capital Kabul.
The deal comes as Kabul begins an ambitious United Nations-backed program to disarm many of Afghanistan's private militias.
Afghan officials say that under the deal, armed fighters loyal to Dostum and Mohammed will be merged under a single neutral commander to be appointed by Kabul, the BBC said.
