51.   Tomsen said it was imperative to get aid released quickly to prevent Afghan warlords from taking over the country.

52.   U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, and powerful Afghan warlord Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum were among those awaiting the former king.

53.   U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, and powerful Afghan warlord Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum were among those present.

54.   Wazir Khan, a brother of Afghan warlord Pacha Khan, said there were dead and injured in the battle for Gardez in Paktia province.

55.   Forces of northern Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostam are fighting alongside the former government troops in the north of Kabul, his spokesman General Muhammed Yusif confirmed Sunday.

56.   Former Afghan warlord Gulbudinn Hekmatyar, who opposes the interim Kabul government, has left Iran after threats to expel him, the Afghan Islamic Press reported Wednesday.

57.   He said his force also was fully aware of the danger of being sucked into internecine rivalry between Afghan warlords.

58.   His visit coincides with increasing reports of fighting and tensions between factions loyal to different Afghan warlords, particularly in the north.

59.   Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said Monday that renegade exiled Afghan warlord and foe of the interim Kabul government Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was free to leave Iran.

60.   Abdullah meanwhile rejected criticism that the new cabinet was a collection of Afghan warlords chosen for political considerations.