Syria Leaves Lebanon

Troops Pull Out; Spies Abandon Headquarters; 29-Year Presence Ends

(AP) 
"Within the next few hours, all the troops will be out of Lebanon," a Syrian government official said in Damascus. "What will be left are those who will take part in the official farewell" on Tuesday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Lebanese officer said some 300 Syrian officers and soldiers will attend Tuesday's ceremony at a base in Rayak, a few miles from the Syrian border, to pay tribute to the Syrian Army's role in Lebanon. Afterward, the token Syrian force will leave and there will not be a single Syrian soldier left in Lebanon.

It was assumed that the Syrian intelligence and their chief would also withdraw by Tuesday.

The Syrians entered Lebanon in 1976, ostensibly as peacekeepers in the year-old civil war. After the war ended in 1990, 40,000 Syrian troops remained in Lebanon, giving Damascus the decisive say in Lebanese politics.

Syria began withdrawing from Lebanon last month following international and Lebanese pressure in the wake of the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Anti-Syrian opposition leaders accused Lebanon's pro-Syrian government and Syria of playing a role in the assassination — a charge both authorities denied.

In September 2004, when the number of Syrian troops in Lebanon stood at about 14,000, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution calling on Syria to withdraw all its troops and intelligence operatives.

Last week, Lebanese and Syrian officials said the remaining 1,000 troops would be gone by April 26.

The withdrawal of Syria's troops and intelligence officers will meet Syria's April 30 deadline for a full pullout and should also fulfill U.N. and U.S. demands.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said last week he was delaying until Tuesday the release of a report to the Security Council on Syria in Lebanon so he could confirm the full withdrawal.

The United States and Annan have been pushing for the Syrians to leave before Lebanon's parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to take place next month.