Symbol of US cruelty may not be closed by Jan. 2010

According to resources, US Attorney General Eric Holder has declared that meeting Obama's January 2010 deadline for closing the Guantanamo detention center will be "difficult".

"It's going to be difficult for us to make the January 22 deadline," Holder told reporters, citing difficulties in relocating some detainees.

"I think at the end, Guantanamo will be closed," AFP quoted Holder as saying on Tuesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a US rights group, said it was "very concerned" about Holder's comments, noting the prison "has become a symbol of lawlessness and cruelty."

Over 220 terror suspects are still held at the US naval base, located in southern Cuba.

"As important as when Guantanamo is closed is that it is closed right," ACLU National Security Project director Jameel Jaffer said in a statement.

"In a democracy, there is no room for a system of detention that allows human beings to be imprisoned indefinitely without charge or trial," the statement said.

US President Barack Obama had pledged during his presidential campaign to close the facility that has become a symbol of "war on terror" abuses.