December 21, 2001	Friday	Shawwal 5, 1422

KABUL, Dec 20: Afghanistan’s new rulers ordered gun-toting gangs off the streets of Kabul on Thursday as preparations for this weekend’s swearing-in of an interim government gained pace and Osama bin Laden continued to elude US-led forces.

US warplanes flew reconnaissance missions over Al-Qaeda’s former stronghold in Tora Bora, eastern Afghanistan, and intelligence officials interrogated captured fighters, but there was still no news of Osama.

“The process of looking though those caves is not finished,” said Kenton Keith, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, adding that Washington would seek Osama’s extradition if he was found in Pakistan, Afghanistan or elsewhere.

“The hunt will go on whether it takes a day, a week a year or however long it takes. It will continue until he is brought to justice,” he said.

The ban on civilians carrying guns in Kabul was part of security measures being implemented before Saturday’s inauguration of a UN-endorsed six-month interim government, led by Hamid Karzai.

“The security commission has approved an order that no armed persons can walk on the streets and that they should go back to barracks,” defence ministry official Doctor Gulbuddin said.

But Mujahideen fighters from the Kabul garrison, police from the interior ministry and secret police from the intelligence services would be armed, he said.

Karzai is due to be sworn in on Saturday in Kabul during a two-hour ceremony, to be attended by UN Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi, US envoy James Dobbins and foreign ministers from Pakistan and Iran.

Two of Karzai’s main political rivals — outgoing president Burhanuddin Rabbani and Mujahideen faction leader Abdurrab Rasul Sayyaf — are also slated to speak during a ceremony.—AFP