The former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, said Omar will begin the surrender on Friday by turning over the city to one of his commanders, who will then direct the handing over of weapons and ammunition to tribal elders. Zaeef said Omar will not surrender directly to Karzai.

Zaeef told CNN that the Taliban leadership, including Omar, would be guaranteed safety and allowed to go home under the agreement. In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reiterated Thursday that the United States would oppose any agreement that gives amnesty to Omar.

Karzai didn't specifically address Omar's status, but told CNN, "Mullah Omar must distance himself from terrorism, recognize that Taliban has brutalized Afghanistan. That is our demand."
Karzai said amnesty would be offered to the "regular Taliban," but he said that approximately 650 al Qaeda fighters -- which he referred to as Arabs -- in the Kandahar area are criminals who must be brought to justice.

A representative of a local tribal commander in Kandahar said Taliban forces had handed over control of the airport, located about 10 miles southeast of the city. In eastern Afghanistan, meanwhile, intense fighting continued in the mountainous Tora Bora region, where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be holed up.

Intense small arms fire was heard Thursday night outside the U.S. Marine base south of Kandahar. A Marine spokesman said the firing was in response to a credible threat of a possible enemy attempt to probe the camp's outer defenses.

Chaos in Kandahar as Taliban lose hold
December 7, 2001 Posted: 6:21 AM EST (1121 GMT)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The Taliban lost their last major stronghold Friday as Kandahar fell and opposition forces began entering the city, interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai said.

"The Taliban authority is effectively finished," said Karzai. "There is no longer a situation where we will need to push the Taliban forces out of Kandahar." 

The Afghan leader said Taliban fighters had been scheduled to begin turning in their weapons Friday at two locations per an agreement struck Thursday, but that instead, they began fleeing the city overnight. Karzai said opposition forces surrounding Kandahar were beginning to come into the city. 

By Friday afternoon, forces of longtime mujahedeen commander Mullah Naqibullah had taken control of the city's major military and administrative buildings. 

Events in Kandahar were chaotic during the changeover. 

Looting began overnight as the Taliban forces left and spread throughout the city. Looters hit relief agency warehouses as well as private businesses and households. 

CNN sources said Taliban, Arabs, thieves, and opposition forces were on the city streets as the Taliban began to flee. The normally bustling city market was deserted Friday, while gunfire, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-gun fire could be heard throughout the city. 

But Taliban members were hard to find by Friday afternoon as Naqibullah's forces began to exert power. 

While it was believed most of the Taliban had left for rural areas, others were suspected to have gone into hiding in the city, sources said. 

The end of Taliban control in Kandahar followed a deal reached Thursday for them to surrender the city, in a process that was supposed to begin Friday and last up to four days, said Karzai. It was uncertain how the process would proceed now that so many Taliban fighters had fled. 

In other developments, Karzai said supreme Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar missed a Thursday night deadline to renounce terrorism. 

"He did not do that," said Karzai, who will head a new interim Afghan government. "Last night was his last chance before the transfer of power to do that. He remains to be committed to his association with terrorism." 

Karzai said he did not know Omar's whereabouts Friday. 

Along the border with Pakistan on Friday, local tribal leaders were negotiating with the Taliban to surrender the town of Spin Boldak, strategically important because it lies along the highway that links Kandahar to Pakistan.