NATO-led troops and Afghan soldiers patrolled an area of western Afghanistan on Monday where a burst of factional fighting left at least 32 people dead, including a notorious warlord.
President Hamid Karzai said he would send a delegation to the remote area in the western province of Herat, bordering Iran, to "try to bring peace and calm" after Sunday's clashes.
Former Taliban-supporting warlord Amanullah Khan, who has for years led factional clashes in Herat, and his son were among 32 people killed in the violence, provincial governor Syed Hussain Anwari said late Sunday. Khan's convoy was attacked in Shindand district, 120 kilometres (74 miles) south of Herat city, by forces led by the son of rival commander Arbab Basir, who was himself killed two weeks ago. The son also died on Sunday, Anwari said.
The faction had blamed Khan's men for the killing of their commander Basir together with three of his bodyguards.
Afghan forces and soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were patrolling the area, with Khan due to be buried Monday.
"More than 200 (Afghan) police and soldiers are deployed to the area to restore peace and calm," Anwari said. "ISAF troops are also trying to help maintain peace. Their helicopters are flying over the area."
An ISAF spokesman in Herat said the foreign troops were there as a "show of force". The situation was calm early Monday, Captain Giancarlo Ciaburro told AFP.
Karzai called for an end to the fighting.
"We hope the people of Afghanistan and especially the people Shindand know that fighting among themselves brings nothing but destruction and the loss of human life," the president told reporters in the capital.
"We hope all people there understand this and avoid bloodshed and feuds and live in peace and calm."