Syrian forces will on Monday begin withdrawing to the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon amid intense international pressure for a swift and total pullout.
The troops will move after a meeting in Damascus between the Syrian and Lebanese presidents, the Lebanese Defence Minister Abdul-Rahim Murad said, adding that the moves would be completed in two to three days.
Syria’s President, Bashar al-Assad, announced plans on Saturday for a complete pullout but gave no timetable. He envisaged a two-stage withdrawal, first to eastern Lebanon and then to the border with Syria. This failed to satisfy the United States, which again stepped up the pressure on Damascus.
”President Assad’s announcement is not enough,” the US State Department warned. ”The international community has made clear that Syria must withdraw completely and immediately all its military forces and intelligence services from Lebanon.”
Syria appears to have speeded up its plans in response, though there is still no firm indication of when the last of its 14 000 troops are likely to leave the country.
Under the redeployment predicted for on Monday, Syrian forces will withdraw from northern Lebanon and Mount Lebanon in accordance with the Taif Accord that ended Lebanon’s civil war in 1990. It is unclear if any of them will return immediately to Syria.
Syrian officials insist that this is only the first stage. Cabinet minister Buthaina Shaaban told Reuters on Sunday the troops would withdraw to the Syrian side of the border ”as soon as possible logistically” and that Monday’s meeting between the two countries’ leaders would agree on the details, including the timing.
Although President Assad did not mention a withdrawal of intelligence agents from Lebanon, Sami Khiyami, the Syrian ambassador in London, said they would also be going. ”As long as the president says ‘total withdrawal’, it means all military. This is military intelligence, so they are all included,” he said.
Meddling by Syria’s intelligence generally arouses more concern in Lebanon than the presence of the troops, which are largely symbolic.
The US wants all Syrian troops and intelligence agents to leave before May, arguing that this will help to ensure that Lebanese elections scheduled for then are free and fair.
Reaction to President Assad’s withdrawal announcement from the Lebanese opposition was generally cautious, though many welcomed it as a step in the right direction. Al-Mustaqbal, a newspaper owned by the family of the assassinated ex-prime minister, Rafik al-Hariri, called it ”a historic event”. Lebanon’s main opposition leader, Walid Jumblatt, said the president’s speech was a ”positive start”.
Others fear that pro-Syrian elements in Lebanon may try to cause trouble as the troops leave. For the last few weeks the anti-Syrian demonstrators have been unchallenged on the streets, but on Saturday gunmen opened fire in Beirut from cars decorated with pictures of President Assad. On Tuesday, Hizbullah, the militant Shia organisation which is backed by Syria and Iran, is planning a pro-Syria march. Hizbullah is worried about the future of its anti-Israel guerrilla wing because UN security council resolution 1559, which calls for all foreign troops to leave Lebanon, also calls for the dismantling of all militias.
The biggest risk in a withdrawal for President Assad is that it will be viewed in Syria as a humiliation, weakening his regime. Sunday’s issue of al-Baath, the mouthpiece of the regime, carried a large headline saying: ”Our mission has succeeded and our role is not based on our forces’ presence in Lebanon.” – Guardian Unlimited Â