Last Syrian forces out of Lebanon 'in days'

BEIRUT - Syria's military will complete its withdrawal from eastern Lebanon in the next 48 hours, earlier than planned, and its security chiefs will go a day later, a senior security source said.

The source said Rustum Ghazaleh, the Syrian intelligence chief in Lebanon, would be the last to leave after a farewell ceremony in the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday.

The special military road that links the two countries will be closed behind him and the Lebanese Army will take over the Syrian intelligence headquarters in the town of Anjar.

Syria is racing to end its 29-year military and intelligence presence in Lebanon in line with a United Nations Security Council resolution passed in September. It has promised to be out by April 30 but is set to beat its deadline by four days.

On Saturday, Syrian troops left three positions in the Bekaa Valley, witnesses said. They said at least 35 military vehicles crossed the border out of Lebanon, showered with flowers and rice by Lebanese bidding them farewell.

Syria, whose forces entered Lebanon early in the 1975-1990 civil war, has dominated its tiny neighbour since the war ended.

It had some 14,000 troops stationed in Lebanon before it began pulling them out in the face of international pressure and Lebanese protest.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan overrode US objections to delay for a week until Tuesday a report on whether Syria was complying with the demand that it withdraw. 

- REUTERS