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Syrian troops continued a limited pullback operation from Lebanon for the second consecutive day Sept. 22 amid international pressure for a full pullout and an end to Damascus’ interference in Lebanese affairs.
However, commentators in Lebanon said the redeployment appeared to be very limited, with one newspaper even describing it as a "media stunt."
Syrian forces have already evacuated several small posts east of Beirut, and continued to regroup in larger positions in the area ahead of expected eastwards pullbacks, witnesses said.
"The redeployment operation continues today and it will involve areas south and southeast of Beirut, including Aramun, Damur, Khaldeh and Shuwaifat," a high-ranking Lebanese army official told Agence France-Presse. "It will take a few days."
An army official said Sept. 21 that the redeployment concerned about 3,000 troops, most of whom would return to Syria, leaving about 15,000 soldiers on Lebanese soil.
But no major troop movements have been witnessed.
Beirut newspapers noted that the process appeared to be very limited, with the French-language L’Orient-Le Jour calling it "a media stunt" and an attempt to avoid escalation with Washington and Paris.
France and the United States sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 1559, adopted on Sept. 3, which called for the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon and respect for its sovereignty -- a clear message to Syria.
"The Lebanese are not complaining about the Syrian military and the soldiers, but we are complaining about the joint Lebanese-Syrian interferences in Lebanese public affairs, in the administration, services, judiciary, the Lebanese University, etc," said influential Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said.
Beirut newspapers also quoted U.S. officials, who downplayed the importance of the current redeployment because it falls short of the full withdrawal demanded by the United Nations.
The As Safir daily quoted a senior U.S. State Department official as saying that "the redeployment does not fulfill the requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 1559."
"Instead of withdrawing all its forces from Lebanon, it is only redeploying some of its forces," he said.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to draft a report Oct. 3 on compliance with the resolution, which also demanded the disarming of militias in the country.
And just a week ago, U.S. envoy William Burns was in Damascus to tell Syria -- which is under US sanctions -- that it should stop meddling in Lebanon’s affairs and pull out its troops.
On Sept. 21, Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmud Hammud said: "The (last) redeployment will be when we are sure that the international community, through the United Nations and negotiations, has (resolved)... the Arab-Israeli conflict and ended the Israeli occupation of all Arab territories, and when Arab rights have been regained."
Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation. They still control the Shebaa Farms, a small swathe of territory captured from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and now claimed by Lebanon with the backing of Damascus. And they have annexed the Golan Heights, also seized from Syria in 1967.
The Syrian redeployment comes 28 years after Syria first sent in its forces after the outbreak of the 1975-1990 civil war. The Syrian redeployment was the latest in a series since 2001 which has seen the number of troops decrease from a high of 35,000 at the end of the war.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=367255&C=mideast
However, commentators in Lebanon said the redeployment appeared to be very limited, with one newspaper even describing it as a "media stunt."
Syrian forces have already evacuated several small posts east of Beirut, and continued to regroup in larger positions in the area ahead of expected eastwards pullbacks, witnesses said.
"The redeployment operation continues today and it will involve areas south and southeast of Beirut, including Aramun, Damur, Khaldeh and Shuwaifat," a high-ranking Lebanese army official told Agence France-Presse. "It will take a few days."
An army official said Sept. 21 that the redeployment concerned about 3,000 troops, most of whom would return to Syria, leaving about 15,000 soldiers on Lebanese soil.
But no major troop movements have been witnessed.
Beirut newspapers noted that the process appeared to be very limited, with the French-language L’Orient-Le Jour calling it "a media stunt" and an attempt to avoid escalation with Washington and Paris.
France and the United States sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 1559, adopted on Sept. 3, which called for the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon and respect for its sovereignty -- a clear message to Syria.
"The Lebanese are not complaining about the Syrian military and the soldiers, but we are complaining about the joint Lebanese-Syrian interferences in Lebanese public affairs, in the administration, services, judiciary, the Lebanese University, etc," said influential Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said.
Beirut newspapers also quoted U.S. officials, who downplayed the importance of the current redeployment because it falls short of the full withdrawal demanded by the United Nations.
The As Safir daily quoted a senior U.S. State Department official as saying that "the redeployment does not fulfill the requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 1559."
"Instead of withdrawing all its forces from Lebanon, it is only redeploying some of its forces," he said.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to draft a report Oct. 3 on compliance with the resolution, which also demanded the disarming of militias in the country.
And just a week ago, U.S. envoy William Burns was in Damascus to tell Syria -- which is under US sanctions -- that it should stop meddling in Lebanon’s affairs and pull out its troops.
On Sept. 21, Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmud Hammud said: "The (last) redeployment will be when we are sure that the international community, through the United Nations and negotiations, has (resolved)... the Arab-Israeli conflict and ended the Israeli occupation of all Arab territories, and when Arab rights have been regained."
Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation. They still control the Shebaa Farms, a small swathe of territory captured from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and now claimed by Lebanon with the backing of Damascus. And they have annexed the Golan Heights, also seized from Syria in 1967.
The Syrian redeployment comes 28 years after Syria first sent in its forces after the outbreak of the 1975-1990 civil war. The Syrian redeployment was the latest in a series since 2001 which has seen the number of troops decrease from a high of 35,000 at the end of the war.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=367255&C=mideast