At least 12 people have been killed in clashes between rival Afghan factions fighting for control of the Sheen Dend district in the western province of Herat.
Mr Haji Hazrat, a local commander in Herat, said the fighting between ethnic Pashtun and Tajik gunmen started yesterday following instructions from the Tajik governor of Herat, Mr Ismail Khan.
But the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported a ceasefire between the two sides had been brokered late on Monday.
According to Mr Hazrat, Mr Saleh Gul, a local commander in the southern city of Kandahar, had sent reinforcements to the Pashtun fighters overnight.
The clash along ethnic lines underlines Afghanistan's continued vulnerability to in-fighting and local governors or warlords who are reluctant to cede control to the new government.
Although President Mr Hamid Karzai is from the country's largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns, key cabinet positions are held by members of the minority Tajik clan loyal to the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.
Anger over the division of power after the fall of the Pashtun-backed Taliban is widespread.