http://www.boston.com/dailynews/169/world/Syrian_army_withdraws_from_mos:.shtml

Syrian army withdraws from most of Beirut, but still calls shots in Lebanon

By Sam F. Ghattas, Associated Press, 6/18/2001 16:11

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) Beirut was virtually empty of Syrian troops Monday, five days into a withdrawal from the Lebanese capital that followed repeated Lebanese Christian demands for an end to Syria's dominance of their country.

It was the first time in over a decade that the presence of Syrian forces, in the country since 1976, was reduced to a bare minimum in the capital at least from what could be seen.

But the redeployment does not mean Syria is about to quit Lebanon. Many of the departing troops moved east to join thousands of troops remaining along strategic roads, mountaintops and the Mediterranean coast.

And the government and parliament in Beirut are stacked with Syria's allies, guaranteeing their political and military grip on Lebanon.

The moderates among mainly Christian critics of the Syrian policy in Lebanon have welcomed the redeployment, but the extremists dismissed it as a propaganda ploy to improve Syria's image.

Syria has about 30,000 troops in Lebanon. The Syrians were invited into Lebanon in 1976 by then-president Suleiman Franjieh, a Christian, ostensibly as part of an Arab peacekeeping force to quell a civil war. But as the conflict dragged on for 14 years, they were drawn in on the side of the Muslims.

The Syrian army has controlled Beirut's Muslim sector since 1987 and the Christian area since 1990, when they defeated anti-Syrian forces in the last battle of the civil war. Under the Taif Accord that ended the 1975-90 civil war, the troops were supposed to have redeployed from Beirut to the Bekaa Valley in the early 1990s.

The troops have been the backbone of Damascus' domination of Lebanon's political landscape.

Maronite Catholic Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, a leader in the campaign against Syrian control, welcomed the pullback from Beirut. In a Sunday sermon, he said Lebanon and Syria must work together to preserve the dignity of each country something he said was impossible ''without each side enjoying full independence, sovereignty and free decision.''

''I hope the redeployment is a prelude to a change in Syria's behavior in Lebanon,'' said Gebran Tueni, publisher of Beirut's leading An-Nahar newspaper and a frequent critic of Syrian influence in his country.

''I hope that they understand that Lebanon is an independent country and that we want to deal them as real allies, not agents,'' he said.

The withdrawal from in and around Beirut, which began Thursday, is expected to conclude this week. The exercise was largely carried out during the nights, and Lebanese went about their business as usual, in sharp contrast with celebrations that accompanied Israel's troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon 13 months ago.

Syrian forces remained in some positions, including near the international airport. Plainclothes Syrian intelligence agents remained in other positions as well, including their headquarters in the city.

Small convoys of trucks, armored vehicles and trailer-mounted tanks have since Thursday been scaling the mountainous Beirut-Damascus highway, carrying soldiers, mattresses, cabinets and ammunition, with big guns in tow.

The convoys headed east toward the Bekaa Valley, where Syria has a big garrison to protect its flank. The closest Lebanese-Syrian border point in the Bekaa is only a 20-minute drive from Damascus, the Syrian capital.

Lebanon's pro-Syrian government has maintained that the Syrian presence was necessary as Lebanon rebuilt its armed forces and while Israel occupied southern Lebanon.

But after Israel's withdrawal, calls for a Syrian pullback increased. Sfeir and other Christian leaders were joined by Druse leader Walid Jumblatt, who was Syria's major ally in the civil war. Most Muslim leaders publicly supported Syria's policy in Lebanon.

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2001