Syrian president plans to remove troops

SYRIAN president Bashar Assad made moves to assuage protesters in Beirut and western governments yesterday and said he will “soon” take steps to withdraw his army from Lebanese areas.

But it was unclear if that meant Syria would leave the neighbouring country.

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters shouted insults at Syria and demanded the resignation of their pro-Syrian government in a Beirut protest yesterday.

It came a week after the assassination of Rafik Hariri, Lebanon’s most prominent politician.

In Damascus, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said President Bashar Assad affirmed Syria will “soon” take steps to withdraw its army from Lebanese areas, in accordance with a 1989 agreement.

The announcement came after Moussa held talks with Assad.

“Assad stressed more than once his firm determination to go on with implementing the Taif agreement and achieve Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in accordance with this agreement,” Moussa said.

“Syrian withdrawal is part of Syrian policy and will see steps in this direction very soon,” Moussa quoted Assad as saying.

The 1989 accord signed in Taif, Saudi Arabia, ended the Lebanese civil war.

It called for Syrian forces, which had entered Lebanon to separate the warring sides, to withdraw within two years to the Bekaa Valley near the border.