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More Syrian tanks and vehicles leave Lebanon
( 2001-06-16 10:13 ) (7 )

Syria moved more tanks and armoured vehicles from Beirut to the border early on Saturday, cutting its military presence in Lebanon in a sudden and unexpected redeployment.

But the question remained as to how much Damascus, the key political and military power broker in Lebanon, had loosened its 26-year stranglehold on its small neighbour.

Witnesses saw more than 25 Syrian tanks and armoured personnel carriers and vehicles rolling through the eastern Lebanese town of Chtaura, heading towards the Lebanese-Syrian border after Friday midnight.

"There were more tanks and vehicles leaving than last night," one witness told Reuters.

Most of the Syrian troops on the move appeared to have withdrawn from Christian neighbourhoods and areas near the presidential palace and other Lebanese government buildings.

Lebanese security sources said Syrian troops had left 14 positions in mainly Christian east Beirut on Thursday and Friday and planned to complete their redeployment within the next few days.

The sources did not know whether all those soldiers were leaving the country. Syria has about 35,000 troops in Lebanon.

"We haven't gotten the order yet," said one Syrian soldier near a position in the mountains above Beirut. "When we do, we'll carry it out."

Israel has accused Syria of sponsoring guerrilla attacks on the Jewish state from south Lebanon and in April launched air raids on a big Syrian radar base in eastern Lebanon. Israel has also warned of action if attacks by Lebanon's Syrian-backed Hizbollah guerrillas continue.

Lebanon praised Syria's surprise redeployment + which began on Thursday after months of complaint from Lebanon's substantial Christian minority which resents Damascus's dominance of Lebanese politics.

Thirty percent of Lebanon's 4.3 million population is Christian.

NEWSPAPERS OFFER CAUTIOUS PRAISE

Lebanese newspapers offered cautious praise for Syria's apparent concession. Some commentators called for a complete pullout in accordance with the treaty that formally ended Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

"The Syrian regime has started to acknowledge the necessity of improving relations with Lebanon, but has not yet acknowledged the necessity of a total improvement," wrote Samir Kassir in the independent an-Nahar daily.

The pullback of some Syrian troops from Beirut and its surroundings has been greeted with surprise, disbelief and confusion.

Politicians and diplomats were at a loss about the military and political scope of the redeployment.

Analysts agreed that whatever the scale, it did not mean Syria had loosened its grip on its small neighbour, whose governments and presidents it has routinely vetted to the chagrin of many Lebanese.

A Western diplomat with military expertise said the redeployment signalled a change in the character of Syria's military presence, even if its full scale was not yet apparent.

"It is a good move, a very important one. I don't know how far it will go," he said.

On Friday witnesses saw dozens of military vehicles carrying tanks and other equipment making for the Syrian border along the road linking Beirut and Damascus.

Maronite Christian Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, who has spearheaded the campaign against Damascus's influence, expressed relief but said discontent remained.