KABUL (Satrapia) – Afghanistan’s rival leaders all took the oath of office as president in separate ceremonies Monday, plunging negotiation plans with the Taliban into turmoil and posing a challenge for the United States as it pushes forward with its peace agreement.

Hundreds of people had gathered at two different locations in the palace complex to attend swearing-in ceremonies for President Ashraf Ghani and his challenger Abdullah Abdullah. The two events took place at the same time, Ghani’s at the presidential palace and Abdullah’s next door at the Sapedar palace, both filled with partisans of each rival.

Two shots were heard at the Presidential Palace during the ceremonies and prompted some to flee.

The US-Taliban deal signed just over a week ago was touted as Washington’s effort to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan and was seen by many Afghans as the best opportunity yet for bringing an end to relentless wars. However, Ghani, who was declared the winner of last September’s election, and his rival Abdullah Abdullah, who charged fraud in the vote along with the elections complaints commission, have refused to settle their differences.

In a sign of international support for Ghani, his ceremony — aired on state TV — was attended by Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Gen. Austin S. Miller, the head of US forces in Afghanistan, as well as a number of foreign dignitaries including the US Embassy’s chargé d’affaires and Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary General’s personal representative to Afghanistan.

At Abdullah’s inauguration, aired on private Tolo TV, among those present were so called jihadi commanders, who were among those who allied with the US-led coalition to topple the Taliban in 2001. Those commanders also participated in the brutal civil war of the 1990s, raising fears that the divisions among Afghan leaders could lead to violence.