UN Envoy: Syria Promises Total Pullout from Lebanon
http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C29EEF:2F72C9DAnnouncement follows talks between Terje Roed-Larsen and Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad in the northern Syrian town of Aleppo A
senior U.N. diplomat says Syria has promised a total withdrawal of
military and intelligence personnel from Lebanon as demanded by the
U.N. Security Council.
Terje Roed-LarsenThe announcement follows talks between U.N. envoy
Terje Roed-Larsen and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the northern
Syrian town of Aleppo.
The U.N. office in Beirut has issued a statement saying President
Assad has committed Syria to fulfill U.N. Security Council resolution
1559, which demands a complete withdrawal of 14,000 Syrian troops. The
pullout agreement also covers Syrian intelligence personnel, widely
accused by Lebanese opposition leaders of manipulating Lebanese
politics.
The U.N. statement adds that Mr. Roed-Larsen will give details of the
timetable for the pullout to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan early
next week in New York.
Mr. Roed-Larsen pressed Mr. Assad for the timetable one week after the
Syrian leader had announced a redeployment of Syrian forces to
Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley.
Syrian troops remove tank on transporter, as they leave position in
Daher El-Baidar mountain region of LebanonHowever, convoys of Syrian
troops also have begun crossing the border with Lebanon to return
home. According to Lebanese defense officials, Syria has pulled all of
its troops out of northern Lebanon, though some intelligence posts in
the region are still manned.
Syria has been under intense international pressure to get out of
Lebanon since the February 14 assassination of former Lebanese prime
minister Rafik Hariri. Many Lebanese opposition supporters blame
Syria for the killing, though Damascus denies involvement.
Syrian troops first entered Lebanon in 1976 under an Arab League
mandate to quell a civil war, and at its height Syria had about 40,000
soldiers in Lebanon.