BEIRUT: Lebanese army troops backed by several armoured vehicles took up positions near the Syrian intelligence headquarters in a Beirut suburb on Saturday. It was not immediately clear what prompted the deployment of the approximately 50 troops, three armoured personnel carriers and several trucks. The deployment, about 150 meters (yards) from the Beau Rivage Hotel where the main Syrian intelligence units for the Beirut area are located, comes a few hours before Syrian President Bashar Assad was expected to announce a withdrawal from Syrian forces from Lebanon. Meanwhile, US President George W Bush said on Saturday that Syria is an obstacle to securing peace across the Middle East, making a new demand that Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon. The US leader said however that anti-Syrian demonstration by thousands of people in Lebanon was one of the "remarkable" new signs of democracy sweeping the region. "For years, the Lebanese people have suffered from the aftermath of a horrific civil war and occupation by Syria," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "Lebanese citizens who have watched free elections in Iraq are now demanding the right to decide their own destiny, free of Syrian control and domination. "Syria has been an occupying force in Lebanon for nearly three decades, and Syria's support for terrorism remains a key obstacle to peace in the broader Middle East."