Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to announce on Saturday a partial pullout of troops from Lebanon, to a background of international pressure and Beirut protests demanding nothing less than a full withdrawal. In a speech to parliament, Assad will announce the pullout of some troops completely and the redeployment of the rest close to the border, a Lebanese political source said on Friday. He is expected to declare the move to be in line with the Taif Accord which ended Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war. That accord stipulates Syrian forces be redeployed to the eastern Bekaa Valley, and then that the Lebanese and Syrian governments agree on how long these forces would stay.
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