President Bashar Assad has pledged to move Syrian troops
from central and northern Lebanon to first the Bekaa Valley and then to the border with Syria.
But Assad neither announced a timetable for withdrawal nor clarify
whether Syrian troops would return to their country.
"As an extension of measures already taken, we will withdraw our forces
stationed in Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley and then to the border," Assad told
parliament on Saturday.
Assad said Lebanese and Syrian leaders would meet this week to approve
the withdrawal plan. He said his plan would fulfill United Nations Security
Council and Arab League resolutions for a Syrian military pullout from
Lebanon, Middle East Newsline reported.
"The natural place for Syrian forces is Syrian land," Assad said.
"Withdrawal is in the interests of Syria."
Over the last week, Damascus has come under heavy Arab and Western
pressure to withdraw Syrian troops from Lebanon. The Lebanese opposition,
angered by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, has
forced the resignation of the Beirut government, and Lebanese sources
reported attacks on Syrian laborers and military installations in Lebanon.
Assad, however, did not provide a timetable for withdrawal. Since 2001,
Syria has reduced its military presence in Lebanon from 40,000 to about
14,000 troops.
"Our way is a gradual and organized withdrawal," Assad said.
Lebanese sources said Lebanese troops have been stationed outside three
Syrian military buildings in Beirut. The sources said these buildings came
under threat of attack over the weekend.
"The Syrian army should withdraw to the inside of Syrian territories,
not to the border," former Lebanese President Michel Aoun told the
Dubai-based Al Arabiya satellite television. "I call on the Lebanese to be
very careful about the wording and not to be happy over the general
meaning."
The United States has demanded that Syria also withdraw its tens of
thousands of intelligence agents deployed in Lebanon. U.S. officials said
the Assad regime has replaced Syrian troops with plainclothes intelligence
officers, who help ensure the domination of the Lebanese government.
"A Syrian withdrawal of all its military and intelligence personnel
would help ensure that the Lebanese elections occur as scheduled in the
spring, and that they will be free and fair," President George Bush said in
a radio address on Saturday.
