Syrian intelligence officers begin leaving Beirut

A day after Lebanon’s biggest opposition demonstration, Syrian military intelligence began leaving an office in Beirut, protected by police.

A policeman at the scene said some Syrian agents had already left and the others were on their way out.

A local resident said about 20 agents left in a van and a car earlier in the day. However, Syrian agents remained at their main office for the Lebanese capital.

Meanwhile, pro-Syrian prime minister-designate Omar Karami began consultations to form a Cabinet. He has been in caretaker capacity since February 28 when he was forced to quit under popular pressure.

He was reappointed to the job by President Emile Lahoud 10 days later.

Karami hopes to form a national unity government, which he said is the only way to deal with Lebanon’s political crisis.

Lebanese troops and police in riot gear prepared for a demonstration near the US embassy in Beirut, blocking the road with barbed wire and sending reinforcements to area.

Pro-Syrian groups have blamed the US for pressuring Damascus into deciding to withdraw its 14,000 troops from Lebanon. They also reject a US-sponsored UN Security Council resolution that demands the Syrian withdrawal as well as the dismantling of militias, a reference to the militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.