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CNN Live At Daybreak

America's New War: Protestors Set Fire to U.S. Embassy in Kabul

Aired September 26, 2001 - 07:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: There are huge traffic jams heading into Manhattan this morning. That is prompting the mayor to order a ban. Beginning with tomorrow's rush hour, no more single occupancy cars will be allowed to move onto the island by way of bridges and tunnels.

The FBI is checking nationwide to see just who is licensed to transport hazardous materials. Attorney General John Ashcroft says several people who may have links to the suspected hijackers had sought or held licenses to carry hazardous materials.

On the investigative front, Spanish police have arrested six Algerians believed to have links to suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden. Also, Interpol is looking for an Egyptian doctor suspected of being the number two man in bin Laden's terrorist organization.

And in Afghanistan's capital today, protesters set fire to the former U.S. Embassy. Our Christiane Amanpour is in the region in Islamabad, Pakistan right now with some more details -- good morning, Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, reports and pictures reaching us from Kabul show that there was apparently a rather large demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. There were lots of people coming there throwing stones and protesting and then they took off the seal of the United States, apparently, and after that they started burning some cars and other things around the outside of the embassy. Eyewitnesses say Taliban forces had to push back the demonstrators.

Now, this embassy had been really left empty, abandoned, essentially, by the United States after the retreat of the Soviet forces back in 1989. Of course, they were keeping the embassy, hopefully, one day to renew diplomatic relations and be able to move back into it. So a demonstration there, the largest one, apparently, that has been seen so far against the United States at this particular time.

In the meantime, in Islamabad, in Karachi, the big southern port town, there was a gathering that was held in support of the international community and in support of this campaign against terror. It was held by one of the big Pakistan political parties, MQM. But there are reports also that opponents of Pakistan's stand with the international community attacked some members of that gathering. There were shots fired. There was a grenade hurled, according to eyewitnesses down there, and some 12 people were injured.

On another matter, the issue of the humanitarian crisis looming inside Afghanistan, the Pakistanis are now saying that they have no plans to open the border to any further Afghan refugees. They say that they'll contemplate doing so if the situation reaches crisis point. They believe that it has not yet reached that point.

The E.U. yesterday offered about nearly $20 million for refugee relief but the Pakistanis are saying that's pretty much a drop in the ocean. They're saying they need about $122 million for immediate refugee assistance and that will only last about six months -- Paula.

ZAHN: Well, Christiane, what would Pakistani officials consider a crisis? There are estimates that as many as a million people might be on the move at some point in the next several weeks, some of them headed to Pakistan, some of them headed to Iran.

AMANPOUR: Yes, those people obviously are not yet all at the border, in fact, not in any large huge numbers yet at the border, and presumably there will be a huge amount of pressure both on Iran and on Pakistan if there are hundreds of thousands of Pakistan -- of Afghan refugees clamoring for food, refuge and shelter.

ZAHN: All right, Christiane, we will continue to check in with you throughout the morning. Thanks so much for that report.

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