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Syria Pulls out Troops from Most Positions in Beirut
Syrian troops have withdrawn from most of their positions in Beirut, the Oriental radio quoted security sources as saying on Sunday.
The radio said Syrian troops on Sunday moved out from positions in mainly Muslim-populated southern neighborhoods of Beirut. Only a few Syrian positions remain along the seaside areas of the capital, the radio added.
Lebanon on Thursday abruptly announced the redeployment of Syrian troops, which was said to be a result of coordination between Lebanese leadership and Syrian authority.
Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976 as an Arab peacekeeping force, one year after the outbreak of Lebanon's civil war. Although the war ended in 1990, Syria maintains some 35,000 troops in Lebanon.
According to the 1989 Taif Accord, which ended Lebanon's 1975- 1990 civil war, Syrian troops should have withdrawn from Beirut to the mountain areas in central Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley as early as 1992.
Lebanon's Christians have been accusing Syria of interfering Lebanon's internal affairs and some blame 350,000 Syrian workers in Lebanon of "grabbing their jobs and wealth."
However, the Lebanese leadership insists on the necessity of Syrian troops presence in the country in view of the potential danger of Israeli invasion.
Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in May last year, but it has never stopped shelling and violations of Lebanese airspace in the face of military operations carried out by the resistance guerrilla group Hezbollah, or Party of God.
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