ISLAMABAD - Forces loyal to ethnic Uzbek warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum have seized a district in northern Afghanistan after clashes with rival troops, a Pakistan-based news agency reported on Wednesday.

The rival forces battling for control of Qale Zaal district are linked to the month-old interim government's two top defence chiefs and the violence has stirred fears about the stability of the UN-backed administration.

The latest round of fighting ended after Dostum's troops drove their rivals out of Qale Zaal, some 60 km northwest of the town of Kunduz, the private Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said, citing unidentified sources.

Dostum is deputy defence minister and the rival ethnic Tajik force is loyal to Defence Minister Mohammad Fahim.

AIP said the clashes for control of Qale Zaal erupted on Sunday and several fighters from both sides were killed or wounded.

But Dostum said later on Wednesday he fully backed the new administration.

"We have very good relations and communication with the interim government," he told reporters in Turkey before meeting Foreign Minister Ismail Cem.

"Despite the propaganda, we support the interim government. We stand behind this government."

The burly Dostum did not deny his forces had clashed with Fahim's troops, but denied reports fighting had broken out with former Northern Alliance President Burhanuddin Rabbani's men.

An official under Fahim denied there had been any fighting in recent days.

"The problem, a minor local one which existed, was resolved three days back after delegations from both sides went to the area," the official said.

Before the district was captured by the former ruling Taliban in 1997, Qale Zaal was for several years the scene of regular clashes between Dostum's Junbish-i-Milli faction and the Shura-i-Nazar faction, now led by Fahim.

The latest skirmishes followed the area's capture from the Taliban late last year. There have recently been reports of a deterioration of security in Kunduz and other nearby parts of Afghanistan. - Nampa-Reuters