January 12, 2002	Saturday	Shawwal 27, 1422

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WASHINGTON, Jan 11: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared on Friday that the detainees from the war in Afghanistan — some of whom just arrived at a US naval base in Cuba — are “unlawful combatants” and technically have no rights under the Geneva Convention.

“They will be handled not as prisoners of war — because they’re not — but as unlawful combatants,” Rumsfeld said of the detainees. “As I understand it, technically, unlawful combatants do not have any rights under the Geneva Convention.”

445 DETAINED: The number of Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters who have been handed over to US forces has climbed to 445, General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday.

“The number of Al-Qaeda and Taliban detainees transferred to US forces in Afghanistan has continued to grow and now stands at 445,” Myers said, adding that the first plane, with 20 detainees on board, arrived in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on Friday.—AFP