Syrian Army Completes Most of Pullout From Beirut

25/03/2001| IslamWeb

[Syrian tanks, equipment and personnel streamed along the highway over the weekend and crossed Lebanon's eastern border into Syria. See photo caption below].

BEIRUT (Islamweb, Agencies) - Syrian forces have abandoned almost all their military positions in and around Beirut in the last five days of surprise troop withdrawals from Lebanon, Lebanese security officials said.
The Lebanese officials said Syrian troops had evacuated the vast majority of their positions in Beirut and Mount Lebanon since launching the withdrawal on Thursday.
Syrian troops remained in strategic positions around Beirut airport. A decision to withdraw from there was awaiting approval from the Syrian high command, the security officials added.
The troops also remained in the suburb of Bir Hassan and some positions along the Mediterranean seafront and mountain posts.
A Reuters correspondent monitoring the Beirut-Damascus highway said there was no significant Syrian military movement on the road throughout Monday and the early hours of Tuesday.
Syrian tanks, equipment and personnel streamed along the highway over the weekend and crossed Lebanon's eastern border into Syria.
SYRIA FEARS RISING OPPOSITION
Syria appeared to have taken into account the rising opposition, which was spearheaded by Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, who was later joined by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.
``There is a civil society with particular characteristics in Lebanon, and Syria has to organize its relations with Lebanon in this light,'' Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was quoted as saying on Monday.
His Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara played down the influence of the Lebanese opposition.
``When the Lebanese government found that redeployment was in their interest, then Syria did not hesitate, especially as we declared a long time ago that the matter is up to the two governments which decide the fate of this military presence,'' Shara told Egypt's Nile television.
Syrian forces have been discreetly and gradually scaling down their presence in Beirut over the past two years. This was the first time that they announced their intention to redeploy.
``The debate (about the presence of Syrian troops) has subsided,'' said Shara, without referring to the Taif peace accord which ended the 15-year Lebanese civil war and stipulated a partial Syrian military redeployment.
Military experts said the withdrawal might be a tactically wise move. Syrian positions in Lebanon are vulnerable to Israeli attack at a time of high tension.
In April, Israeli planes attacked a Syrian radar base in Lebanon, killing three Syrian soldiers in reprisal for an ambush against Israeli troops by Lebanon’s Islamic Resistance group Hizbollah fighters. 
Security officials said most of the Syrian troops in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley would stay there. Syrian troops, which poured into Lebanon after the outbreak of civil war in 1975, also remain concentrated in and around the northern city of Tripoli.
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PHOTO CAPTION

A Syrian truck carrying a tank travels in a convoy along a mountain road towards the Bekaa Valley early June 15, 2001. Syria moved more tanks and armored vehicles from Beirut across the Syrian-Lebanese border early June 16, 2001, cutting its military presence in Lebanon in a sudden and unexpected redeployment. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
- Jun 16 11:41 AM ET
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