Kabul, Afghanistan ? Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday his government will give weapons to local tribesmen so they can help fight the biggest surge in Taliban violence in years.

Two soldiers in the U.S.-led coalition and seven Afghan civilians were killed in the latest violence in the country’s south, which has been hardest hit by the pickup in insurgent attacks.

Speaking to a group of tribal elders from eastern Afghanistan, Karzai said he did not want to form militias that could clash with rival tribes.

Although they would not speak for attribution because of the sensitivity of the topic, Western diplomats briefed on the plan said they worried it could fuel factional fighting by giving weapons to forces loyal to warlords with long histories of factional disputes.