Syrians begin Lebanese withdrawal

Syrian soldiers flashed victory signs and waved automatic rifles as they drove east through Lebanon’s mountains in the first phase of a pullback today.

Meanwhile in Beirut, government MPs advised the Lebanese president to bring back his pro-Syrian prime minister forced to resign by opposition protests.

Re-nominating Omar Karami as prime minister would be sure to enrage the opposition, which is demanding the creation of a government clean of Syrian domination.

But Damascus is eager to keep its hold on the Lebanese leadership as it pulls its forces back to the Bekaa Valley, near the Syrian border, and negotiates with the government in Beirut on the troops’ full removal.

In the mountains north and east of Beirut, Syrian soldiers were moving out in trucks from bases they have held for almost three decades, and – in some instances – Lebanese troops were taking their place.

Even as Syria was launching the pullback, its allies in Lebanon made a thundering show of their strength, with hundreds of thousands turning out yesterday for a protest organised by the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah guerrilla group to denounce pressure from the US, France and the UN.

A huge demonstration was scheduled to take place later today in the Syrian capital, Damascus, to show support for the country’s embattled president, Bashar Assad.