Lebanese officials said the Syrian military withdrawal has left
Lebanon's military and security forces decimated. They said the Lebanese
military and police remain poorly equipped, inadequately trained and bereft
of a strong command structure.
"Until now, these forces have taken their instructions only from
Damascus," a Lebanese official said. "There is nobody who represents
Lebanese interests with the authority to command these forces."
On Tuesday, Syria withdrew the last of its military forces from Lebanon
and formally end its 29-year occupation of its western
neighbor, Middle East Newsline reported. An estimated 200 troops were said to have been the last Syrian
forces expected to depart Lebanon's Bekaa Valley for Syria. Officials said
Beirut plans to maintain military cooperation with Damascus.
Lebanon's military has been largely inactive since the 1970s amid the
civil war and the Syrian occupation of the country. The Lebanese military no
longer has a credible air force, navy or armored corps.
"The military deployment of the Syrian army is part of this relationship
which links the two countries," Brig. Gen. Elias Farhat, director of the
Lebanese Army Orientation Department, said.
Officials said Syria has retained a significant force of intelligence
officers in locations throughout Beirut and the Bekaa Valley. They said
Damascus was also expected to operate pro-Syrian forces in Lebanon,
including Hizbullah and Palestinian groups.
Both Hizbullah and the Palestine Liberation Organization have refused to
surrender their weapons. The PLO has more than 1,000 fighters as well as a
range of weapons in 12 refugee camps throughout the country.
"We say there are no heavy weapons in the Palestinian camps, and now it
is Lebanon's turn to implement agreements by granting the refugees their
civil rights," Fatah chief Farouk Kaddoumi said.
The Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah has more than 3,000 fighters and a range
of rockets and missiles, officials said. Most of the command structure is
based in the Beirut area, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
At a ceremony to mark the departure of the last Syrian troops, Syrian
Chief of Staff Gen. Ali Habib said Damascus has helped rebuild the Lebanese
Army. Habib said President Bashar Assad decided on the Syrian withdrawal
after he determined that it would not harm Lebanese national security.
"It [Lebanese military] has been rebuilt on sound national foundations
and has become capable of protecting the state," Habib said.
