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CNN Sunday Morning

Number of Detainees at Kandahar Airport Rises to 139

Aired December 30, 2001 - 08:02   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's switch our focus now to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where U.S. Marines have shepherded more al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners into the new airport detention facility. There are now at least 139 detainees who face grilling on the terrorist network and the whereabouts of its leader, Osama bin Laden. CNN's Bill Hemmer is our point man in Kandahar. He joins us now with the latest -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra, good evening again from Southern Afghanistan. Those detainees, again, brought in last night, 14 in the latest haul. Bringing, as you say, the number now to 139. But the going apparently is tough and slow at times. We'll talk more about that in a moment here.

But, also, Osama bin Laden -- his whereabouts -- still unknown. Whether he's in Afghanistan or Pakistan or some other part of the world. But nonetheless, apparently the U.N. and the new Afghan government -- the interim government -- sworn in about a week ago in Kabul apparently have reached an agreement on the future for U.N. peacekeepers here. Let's go to John Vause now standing by in Kabul for the latest on this developing story. John, good evening to you.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. Yes, well a short time ago the foreign minister here, Abdullah Abdullah had a press conference, a very long press conference where he didn't say a great deal. He (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there has been an agreement that -- there has been some finalization between Afghanistan and the international community on this multinational force. However, that's all he said.

He wouldn't give us details about how many troops, how many soldiers would be on ground, where they're all from. In fact, what their mandate would be, where they would go to. No details coming. He steadfastly refused to answer any of those questions. We do know, in fact, that the first peacekeepers began arriving here in Kabul before the December 22 inauguration of the interim administration. But as for other -- other arrivals, we are hoping for more details throughout the night.

But, as you said, there was agreement. And, also, he told us nothing new here. But he did, in fact, enforce that the peacekeepers would be operating under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter. And that does, in fact, allow them to use force on the ground. There had been some debate over exactly how much authority the multinational force would have; how much ability they would have to disarm and to arrest Afghans. He also said that the initial deployment would be in Kabul, but eventually they would, in fact, be welcomed in other cities around Afghanistan.

On other matters, he also said -- a fairly off-the-cuff remark, almost -- that Osama bin Laden may, in fact, still be in Afghanistan. That obviously puts him at odds with statements which are coming from -- from the defense ministry here -- from the defense ministry spokesman, Mohammed Abil (ph), who a few days ago said that Osama bin Laden may be in Pakistan.

Also, on the issue of bombing, Abdullah Abdullah said that the interim administration's policy on that is that the bombing should continue for as long as it takes. For as long as there are terrorist cells out there, the bombing will continue. He said the interim administration -- its policy is that its committed 100 percent to this war on terror and it supports the U.S.-led bombing campaign -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, John. John Vause, working the scene there in the Afghan capital of Kabul. John, thanks for the update there.

Back here in Kandahar now, let's get back to the issue of detainees. Again, last night 14 more brought in, bringing the total now to 139. And talking with sources here at the base, they indicate that the going sometimes is very slow and very prodding, in part because they're working through translators in various different languages. We're told that of the 139 detainees here they come from a variety of 14 different nations. And the translators they have there -- although several on the ground -- apparently cannot work 24 hours a day. In the words of one agent working the scene here, "The going is tough trying to get the questions and the answers out of a number of people. Certainly, who are unwilling to cooperate."

Ultimately, though, that big question about, where is Osama bin Laden, still has not been answered by anyone so far as we can ascertain. That effort continues here. Also, there's a report that another 139 detainees in Pakistan are also being questioned there. But apparently sources here say that is not the case. They will eventually -- the 139 will be transferred here to Kandahar from Pakistan. That is when the questioning will take place. Apparently those in captivity now in Pakistan are just being processed. Things like names and home countries and fingerprints for the time being.

We also know the Red Cross has been and out of this airport for the past several days, checking in on the detention facility and the -- the treatment, rather, of the detainees. We have heard no reports of any wrongful treatment. But, again, the Red Cross we anticipate will have a full report out in about two days' time.

Another note here from Kandahar regarding the U.N. We do know front teams for the U.N. had been in and out of this airport for several days running now, trying to assess the situation when it comes to humanitarian aid. Eventually, we do anticipate quite a bit of aid to come through this airport. But, at this point, it doesn't appear the infrastructure is here to handle it. It may be several weeks, if not months, away here in Kandahar in Southern Afghanistan. And we also do anticipate, at some point, daytime flights to be allowed. At this point, the U.S. military says it's simply not safe in the air. They only fly at nighttime. And many times, as aircraft come in here to the airport without any lights on, they say the area is still insecure. And until it is secure, daytime flights will simply not be allowed. Kyra, back to you now in Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: All right. Bill Hemmer, thanks so much.

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