Growing violence in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar ahead of the presidential election next week highlights a rift between Pashtun tribes that could tip the country back into civil war.
The fate of Kandahar, birthplace of the Taliban insurgency, is crucial.
Some Afghans fear that a loss in the vote for Zalmai Rassoul, a candidate close to President Hamid Karzai, could push Kandahar's powerful Pashtun tribes into rejecting rule from Kabul, 500 km (300 miles) away. Others fear the same outcome if he wins.