Print

Mail

wiki links

Damascus removes some of its 16,000 troops in Lebanon

Syria began a long-awaited redeployment of its troops in Lebanon yesterday in the face of heavy international pressure for Damascus to end its political and military domination of its tiny neighbor.

Syrian forces evacuated four small posts situated on a hilltop in Aramoun, about 15km south of Beirut, as part of the troop pullback eastwards towards the Syrian border.

The move, 28 years after Syria first sent in troops a year after the outbreak of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, followed talks between Syrian Defense Minister General Hassan Turkmani and Lebanese officials.

It also comes after both the UN and the US ratcheted up the pressure on Damascus this month over its role in Lebanon.

It was still not clear if the redeployment, the latest in a series since 2001, would lead to a complete pullout of Syrian troops which numbered as many as 35,000 at the end of the war.

"The redeployment comes ... within the framework of the Taef Agreement and according to the Treaty of Fraternity, Friendship and Cooperation between the political and military leaderships of the two brotherly countries," Lebanese Defense Minister Mahmud Hammud said in a statement.

The 1989 Taef national reconciliation agreement, which led to the end of the civil war, called for a Syrian army pullback to the eastern Bekaa Valley, but did not set a date for the full pullout.

"This steps shows that the improving security situation and stability in Lebanon have allowed [for the troop redeployment]," Hammud said. "Lebanon will continue to coordinate with Syria in this field and all other fields in the interests of the two brotherly countries and peoples."

Lebanese presidential spokesman Rafiq Shalala said that Turkmani, on a previously announced visit met yesterday with Lebanese army chief General Michel Sleiman.

The two delegations were due to visit President Emile Lahoud -- a Damascus protege -- to inform him about the military process.

"The redeployment comes in line with the continued coordination between Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to the Taef agreement," he said.

Shalala said the redeployment was set to take place in the mountains surrounding Beirut from the north to the southeast as well as in northern Lebanon, but said full details would be released later.

The move comes just three weeks after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon and respect for its sovereignty.

Resolution 1559 said the Security Council "reaffirms its call for the strict respect of Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence under the sole and exclusive authority of the government of Lebanon throughout Lebanon."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to draft a report on Oct. 3 on compliance with Resolution 1559, which also demanded the disarming of militias in the country.
This story has been viewed 2240 times.