Military

DATE=1/11/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=DETAINEES / GUANTANAMO (S)

NUMBER=2-285136

BYLINE=MICHAEL BOWMAN

DATELINE=MIAMI

///EDS: REISSUED TO CHANGE 'HAVE' TO 'HAS' IN INTRO AND ADDING MILITARY SOURCE///

VOICED AT:

INTRO: U-S military sources say the first group of suspected Taleban and al-Qaida prisoners from Afghanistan has arrived at the U-S military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the detainees will be held in a makeshift detention center. V-O-A's Michael Bowman reports.

TEXT: The detainees were flown out of Kandahar on Thursday. They are the first of several hundred prisoners that could be transported in coming weeks to the isolated U-S military base in southeastern Cuba.

Officials at the Base say security is their primary concern. A temporary holding facility made up of small, open cells with chain link walls will house the detainees, who have not been granted formal prisoner-of-war status.

Officials say the prisoners will be held in temporary cells until a more permanent facility capable of holding two-thousand individuals is constructed in coming months.

The detainees' ultimate fate remains unclear. President Bush has authorized military tribunals for foreign-captured suspects in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Officials at Guantanamo Bay say all prisoners will be treated humanely and in accordance with international conventions. (SIGNED)

NEB/MCB/KBK