Afghan Troops Restore Calm to City After Militia Takeover

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan troops restored calm to the northern city of Maymana (search) on Friday, one day after it was overrun by militia loyal to a powerful regional warlord, but the ousted governor remained in hiding and told The Associated Press he feared for his life.

Government soldiers retook the city in Faryab province without resistance, according to presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin.

President Hamid Karzai (search) has ordered Gov. Enayatullah Enayat to resume his duties. Enayat was in hiding near the Turkmen border, and resting after breaking his leg in an accident, said Ludin.

Contacted by satellite phone Friday, Enayat said he was afraid for his life after hostile forces burned and looted his home.

Maymana, near the Turkmenistan border, fell Thursday to forces of Abdul Rashid Dostum, the government said.

Accounts of the clash varied, but it presents another security problem for Karzai and the U.S.-led military coalition already entangled in hunting Taliban (search) and Al Qaeda (search) insurgents in the south and east of the country.

Some 150 U.S.-trained national army troops entered the city late Thursday without incident and 600 more soldiers were on the way, said Ludin, the presidential spokesman.

"They secured the airport and then went out into the city," Ludin said. "Our reports are that the people received them quite warmly."

There were no reports of casualties, and Dostum's supporters also reported no fresh incidents Friday. It was not immediately clear whether Dostum's men had withdrawn from the city.

"The city is quiet and the shops are open," said Haroun Turani, a doctor at Maymana hospital whose telephone number was supplied by a Dostum aide. "Police and young armed people under their command have control."

In a telephone call to Karzai on Thursday, Dostum expressed "complete loyalty to the central government and said there had been some misunderstandings about him," Ludin said.

Officials said Dostum, a presidential adviser who has maintained a large private army and tight control in the northwest since helping U.S. forces oust the Taliban in 2001, sent "massive" forces into Faryab from neighboring provinces.