Syrian troops to begin pullback Monday
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-06 21:49

Syrian troops will begin pulling back to the Lebanese border following a Monday meeting of the two countries' leadership, the Lebanese defense minister said Sunday.

Abdul-Rahim Murad said Syrian troops would withdraw from Mount Lebanon and northern Lebanon toward the eastern Bekaa Valley closer to the Lebanon-Syria border.

"The Syrian withdrawal will begin Monday directly after the meeting in Damascus of the Syrian and Lebanese leaderships," Murad said.

Lebanese special forces soldiers stand on their armored personnal carrier during a security patrol in the Martyrs Square where the opposition protesters hold their daily demonstration against Syria, in central Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday March 6, 2005. [AP]

Syrian President Bashar Assad and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud were to meet in Damascus with other top officials to discuss the details of the two-stage pullback the Syrian leader announced Saturday.

Murad said the pullback would take place over the course of two or three days.

In a speech to parliament Saturday, Assad announced a two-stage pullback of Syrian forces to the Lebanese border, but failed to address broad international demands that he completely withdraw Syria's 15,000 troops after nearly 30 years in the country.

Assad was vague about the pullback, leaving it unclear if Syrian forces would eventually leave Lebanon or remain inside the country near the Syrian frontier.

The United States issued a strong statement of dissatisfaction with Assad's comments, which came after four weeks of political turmoil in Lebanon set off by the assassination of a popular former prime minister.

On Friday, President Bush demanded that Syria withdraw all its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon before its parliamentary elections in May. The United Nations and France also have demanded that Syria completely withdraw.

Later Saturday, Syrian Immigrant Affairs Minister Buthaina Shaaban indicated Syrian troops would withdraw completely from Lebanon.

The withdrawal follows weeks of anti-Syrian and anti-government demonstrations in Beirut that led to the resignation of the Cabinet last week. Murad is a member of the pro-Syrian caretaker government that remains in place as a caretaker until Lahoud appoints a new prime minister.

The massive demonstrations erupted in Beirut following the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a bombing that killed 16 others. The Lebanese opposition has accused the government and its Syrian backers of complicity in the bombing, though both deny that.

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