Tuesday, 13th January 2009 - 08:04CET

Obama to order closure of Guantanamo

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will issue an executive order, probably within his first week in office, to close the prison at the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an Obama transition adviser said.

Despite such an order, the prison is unlikely to be shut right away until a solution is found on where to house its occupants.

Obama said repeatedly during his campaign for the White House that the prison for suspected terrorists, a global symbol of U.S. detainee abuses, had to go.

"There is going to be an executive order on closing down Guantanamo," the adviser told Reuters, adding the move would probably be made during Obama's first several days in office.