Kunduz, Afghanistan - German troops injured two civilians in northern Afghanistan Wednesday after the civilians failed to heed warnings to stop approaching a military checkpoint, the provincial governor said.

German troops had installed a temporary checkpoint in Loden area in Kunduz city, the capital for the province of the same name Wednesday and blocked the main Kunduz-Takhar highway, Mohammad Omar, the provincial governor, said.

A group of drivers tried to approach the soldiers on foot and discuss the situation, he said, adding that troops opened fire on them, injuring a child and a man.

"The soldiers tried to stop them with warning signals, but the drivers kept walking towards the checkpoint," Omar said, citing information provided to him by German troops.

The injured were brought to a local hospital in the city and an investigation was launched into the incident, he added.

The incident happened on the same day as German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in Berlin that his country was not willing to keep troops indefinitely in Afghanistan.

He said western nations would be drafting a "concept" paper on Afghanistan's future to provide a basis of an international conference on the conflict to be held early next year.

"We don't want to stay there forever plus three days," he told reporters at Meseberg Palace, the government guesthouse near Berlin where the cabinet met.

Since he took over foreign policy policy last month when his Free Democratic Party (FDP) entered Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition, Westerwelle has been pressing for an exit strategy from the conflict.

He said he had raised the Afghan issue with all the governments he had met since becoming minister, and they all insisted Kabul had to commit to good governance, to fight corruption and prepare for Afghans to take over their own security.

"We want the prospect of their taking over to be in clear view," said Westerwelle, but did not set any deadline for a withdrawal.

The minister said providing troops was a sign that Germany abided by its international commitments.

Germany has a contingent of up to 4,500 soldiers with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The Merkel government is seeking a further year's extension to their parliamentary authorization. (dpa)