Syria to start withdrawing troops from Lebanon soon

BEIRUT - Syria has indicated it would start withdrawing some of its troops from Lebanon soon, but US President George W Bush insisted it should "end its occupation" of its neighbour.

International and Lebanese pressure have mounted on Syria since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut a week ago, blamed by Lebanon's opposition on Syria.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa said President Bashar al-Assad had told him Syria would soon take steps towards withdrawing its forces in line with the Taif agreement, which ended Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.

"President Bashar al-Assad stressed more than once in (our) talks his firm intention to press ahead with the implementation of the Taif agreement and to plan a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in line with this agreement," he told reporters after meeting Assad in Damascus.

"The issue of Taif and the withdrawal is ... part of Syrian policy. There will be talk and steps that we will see soon, " Moussa said.

The 1989 Taif agreement committed Syria to shifting its troops in Lebanon to the eastern Bekaa Valley. It also stipulated that Syria and Lebanon should agree a timetable for a complete Syrian pullout. That is yet to be agreed.

Syria, which has 14,000 troops in Lebanon, pulled out or redeployed a few thousand troops last year. It was widely expected to pull out some more troops ahead of a general election in Lebanon, due to take place by May.

"Just as the Syrian regime must take stronger action to stop those who support violence and subversion in Iraq and must end its support for terrorist groups seeking to destroy the hope of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Syria must also end its occupation of Lebanon," Bush said in a speech in Belgium at the start of a trip to meet European Union and Nato leaders.

Syrian Expatriates Minister Buthaina Shaaban described Hariri's death as a "horrible terrorist act" and warned against trying to use it against Syria.

"Syria has always been a positive and constructive partner in the region ...," she told CNN. "What's happening today is extremely dangerous and they (the US) have to change course and work with Syria as a partner. "

"I'm sure more messages will be sent at the Brussels summit, but the Syrians don't feel this is the right time to make a 180 degree turn in their policy," Sami Baroudi, associate professor of political science at the Lebanese American University, said.

Lebanon's pound was stable on Monday but the central bank continued to sell dollars amid worries over the death of Hariri, credited with masternminding Lebanon's reconstruction effort.

Although the EU is also pressing for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, it favours more of an "engagement" approach. It joined calls from the United States and France for an international investigation into Hariri's killing.

Syria has denied any involvement in Hariri's death and Assad told Moussa he welcomed a UN probe, announced last week.

Thousands of Lebanese protesters chanted "Syria out" as they marched in Beirut a week after Hariri's assassination.

Protesters carrying Lebanese flags and wearing red-and-white scarves, a symbol of the opposition, converged on an exclusive seafront area where the bomb tore through Hariri's motorcade.

They observed a one-minute silence at 12.55pm (1055 GMT), the exact time Hariri was killed a week ago.

"The truth is, we can't stand Syria," protesters chanted, as well as "Syria out" and "Freedom, sovereignty, independence".

The protest was led by a number of mainly Christian and Druze opposition figures.

- REUTERS