Syrian special forces join in farewell ceremony

Syrian special forces joined Lebanese troops today at a Lebanese air base near the Syrian border, and shouted “long live Bashar!” in homage to the Syrian leader, as they prepared for a farewell ceremony marking the end of Syria’s 29-year military involvement with its smaller neighbour.

The soldiers in red berets and camouflage, the last Syrian troops remaining in Lebanon, were to participate in the ceremony later today at a Lebanese army air base at Rayak, a few miles from the Syrian border. Their departure comes after heavy Lebanese and international pressure.

Many among the 250 Syrian soldiers who stayed behind for the ceremony after Syrian troops and intelligence officers left the country yesterday shouted pro-Syrian slogans including “long live Bashar”, referring to their president Bashar Assad.

With the Syrians leaving, its Lebanese allies in the security services also were collapsing. Major General Jamil Sayyed – often described as the enforcer of Damascus’ policy – announced his resignation, and another top security commander left the country with his family.

Only a token Syrian force – about 300 soldiers, compared with a force of 14,000 only two months ago – remained for today’s ceremony at a Lebanese airbase in the eastern Bekaa Valley to mark the official end of the Syrian presence.

The headquarters of Syrian military intelligence, at the border in the Bekaa town of Anjar, was a stark symbol of Damascus’ power – the site where it decided policy in Lebanon, including who ran for office, who became a cabinet minister and who was arrested.

A convoy of about a dozen vehicles pulled out of the site before sunset yesterday, heading for the nearby Masnaa border crossing on its way to Syria.

The top Syrian intelligence chief in Lebanon, Major General Rustom Ghazale, was in the convoy, witnesses said – though he was expected to return to participate in the farewell ceremony.

Lebanese troops took over the vacated positions in Anjar, apparently to prevent a repeat of celebrations by residents and anti-Syrian activists, who in evacuations of other sites have quickly swept in with Lebanese flags and paint to erase Syrian military symbols.

Yesterday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan dispatched a team to verify whether Syria has withdrawn all its troops from Lebanon, as it promised to do under an agreement with the United Nations.

The verification team will be led by Senegalese Brigadier General Mouhamadou Kandji, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Another UN team of logistic and communications experts will arrive in Beirut later in the week to lay the groundwork for a probe into former premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

Anger over the February 14 assassination helped turn the tide against Syria’s long-time presence in Lebanon.

The opposition blamed the murder on the Lebanese government and its Syrian backers, accusations both governments deny. Huge “Syria Out” demonstrations in Beirut brought down the pro-Syrian government.

UN and US pressure intensified on Damascus to withdraw its army, and finally Syria’s government set an April 30 deadline for all the troops to be out.

The Syrians entered Lebanon in 1976, ostensibly as peacekeepers in the year-old civil war. After the war ended in 1990, about 40,000 Syrian troops remained, giving Damascus the decisive say in Lebanese politics.

Its allies in Beirut have been eager to give the rushed withdrawal some dignity.

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud bestowed on Syrian Defence Minister Hassan Turkmani and Syrian military Chief of Staff, General Ali Habib, the Grand Cordone of the Cedars Medal in appreciation of Syria’s role in achieving stability and security in Lebanon, a statement said.

In the market town of Chtaura on the Beirut-Damascus highway in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanese troops took over Syrian intelligence offices and another Ghazale residence.

A military base of several cottages near the town of Baalbek was torn down by the withdrawing troops yesterday and several flatbed trucks loaded with armoured vehicles headed toward the border.

Meanwhile, Lebanese security chief Sayyed announced he was stepping down, citing the “changing political developments”. The director-general of the Interior Ministry’s Department of General Security, Sayyed was widely seen as the main enforcer of Damascus’ policy in Lebanon.