Pullback of Syrian Troops to Bekaa Valley Announced
Leaders Agree to Complete Withdrawal of Forces From Lebanon at a Date to Be Determined Later
By Scott Wilson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 7, 2005; 5:19 PM
MEXEH, Lebanon, March 7 -- Syrian forces in Lebanon will be concentrated in the eastern Bekaa Valley by the end of the month, the presidents of the two countries announced Monday, but a date for the more important troop deployment to their shared border was left for future negotiations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13051-2005Mar7.html
Lebanon waves goodbye to Syria
BASSEM MROUE
IN DAMASCUS
SYRIA yesterday promised to redeploy its troops in Lebanon to eastern areas of the country this month but stopped short of setting a timetable to meet international demands for a total withdrawal from its neighbour’s territory.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=253452005
Syria to withdraw all troops, intelligence agents from Lebanon: Official
Agence France-Presse
Damascus,
March 8, 2005
04:30 IST
Syria will withdraw all its troops from Lebanon, including members of the military intelligence services, a Syrian official who asked not to be named said on Monday.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1270646,00050001.htm
Kingdom Calls for Full Syrian Pullout From Lebanon
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
JEDDAH, 8 March 2005 — Saudi Arabia yesterday welcomed Syrian President Bashar Assad’s announcement to withdraw his country’s forces from Lebanon and hoped that all Syrian forces would soon pull out.
“The Kingdom looks forward to the implementation of the pullout mechanism declared by the Syrian-Lebanese Supreme Council meeting and to the completion of the withdrawal of all Syrian forces from Lebanon in the near future,” the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting a statement issued by the Cabinet after its weekly session in Riyadh.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=60120&d=8&m=3&y=2005
Syrian Troops Will Shift to Bekaa
Dahi Hassan, Arab News
A Lebanese sings her country’s national anthem on the roof of a building while tens of thousands of protesters gather at Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square. (AFP)
DAMASCUS, 8 March 2005 — Syria will move all its troops in Lebanon to the eastern Bekaa Valley by the end of this month, and the joint Lebanese-Syrian Military Committee will decide within one month when the forces will be finally withdrawn to the Syrian side of the border.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=60116&d=8&m=3&y=2005
Shalom: Syria bolstering intelligence forces in Lebanon
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and News Agencies
Israel has observed that Syria has recently been bolstering its intelligence forces in Lebanon, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/548914.html
