Syria is to make a substantial withdrawal of troops from northern Lebanon in the next few days, the Lebanese army said Tuesday. The redeployment was agreed at a meeting of the Lebanese-Syrian military committee on Tuesday, the Lebanese Army Command said in a statement. The surprise move is bound to please Lebanese critics of Syria, mainly Christian opposition groups who have long called for Syria to withdraw its 20,000 troops from the country. But the redeployment is not expected to reduce Syria's dominance in the politics of Lebanon, its western neighbor. It was unclear Tuesday if the Syrian troops in north Lebanon would return to Syria or be redeployed to the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, near the Syrian border. The statement gave no figures for the redeployment, but said it should be completed "within five days."
Interesting. I wonder if they're pulling them out of the way of the Israelis, moving them into position to defend Bekaa, or pulling them back to Syria in anticipation of reinforcing Sammy...
Lebanese security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said up to 4,000 soldiers would be involved and that they could begin moving as early as Tuesday night or early Wednesday. Syrian troops are expected to remain in Tripoli. |