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CNN Live At Daybreak

Reactions to Taliban News Conference

Aired November 21, 2001 - 06:51   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.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: And as you know, we just brought you live that Taliban news conference in Spin Boldak in Afghanistan.

With all the details, let's go now to CNN's Nic Robertson. He is there -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donna, interesting there, the spokesman today was Syed Tayyad Agha. He has been, in the recent years, a secretary to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. Now he is a spokesman. We have not seen a lot of him in the past. Perhaps this is an indication of just how closely the message being delivered to us is coming from the Taliban leader at this time.

He said that the Taliban are in control of four to five provinces of Afghanistan. Kandahar province, that is the province to the south and east of Kandahar City, Helmand province to the south and west of Kandahar City, Uruzgan to the north and west of Kandahar City, Zabul to the north and even further north he said Ghazni province.

He said that the Taliban are militarily able to defend these provinces at this time. He said that it was their religious obligation, that it was at the request of the local population that they should defend these areas.

He talked about the losses in the north as being a withdrawal of the Taliban forces from the north. He said those forces were now reorganized in the south.

When asked about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, he said that the Taliban did not know where Osama bin Laden was at this time. He said that the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar's location is being kept a strict secret.

He also said that rumors that the Taliban were going to cede control of Kandahar City were just propaganda put out by their enemies at this time. He said that the people of Kandahar City and the surrounding provinces want the Taliban and that they were not prepared to do it.

He also said that international foreign intervention, as he called it, was not the solution for Afghanistan's problems in the future. And he said that the Taliban were willing to defend the unity of the Afghan nation -- Donna.

KELLEY: Nic Robertson in Spin Boldak, thanks very much for the latest information there.

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