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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Syrian troops quit Lebanon

Associated Press

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Flatbed trucks hauled tanks toward the border on Sunday while soldiers loaded ammunition, burned documents and knocked down the walls of an old base in eastern Lebanon, effectively ending Syria’s 29-year military domination of its smaller neighbor.

Most of the last 1,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon have withdrawn in the past few days. A senior Lebanese military officer said only 300 will remain until Tuesday for a ceremony marking the formal end of Syria’s military presence.

“All Syrian troops will leave Lebanon by Tuesday,” the officer told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity, which is typical for Lebanese military officials.

The pullout marks a dramatic shift in relations between the two countries and caps two months of intensive international and domestic pressure on Damascus to get out of Lebanon, triggered by the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Syria had about 14,000 troops in the country at the time of Hariri’s killing, which the opposition blamed on Damascus and its allies in the Lebanese government. Both denied any involvement.

Syrian intelligence agents vacated their headquarters in the city of Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa Valley at noon Sunday, and the Lebanese army moved in and took over the position.