BEIRUT, Dec 18: The Syrian army announced on Saturday another limited pullback of troops in Lebanon, amid mounting international pressure on Damascus to pull out all of its forces and end interference in its smaller neighbour.
A senior Lebanese army officer told AFP that Syrian army intelligence troops will be pulled out of their positions at Beirut airport, the southern suburbs of the capital, and in the northern coastal town of Batrun.
A Lebanese army command statement confirmed that "under the directives of Lebanese president Emile Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad... a redeployment of Syrian (army) intelligence posts has been decided."
The Syrian army intelligence office at the Beirut International Airport would be closed as well as that of Beirut's southern suburbs and Batrun, said the statement. It was not clear whether the troops were being redeployed to the east of the country or would withdraw completely to Syria.
The measure came "in line with the joint coordination pertaining to the redeployment" of the thousands of Syrian army troops and intelligence forces in Lebanon, it said.
But on Saturday afternoon, Syrian army intelligence forces were still manning their post in Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of the Lebanese Shia Muslim militant group Hezbollah, according to an AFP correspondent.
The decision to shut the Syrian intelligence posts comes amid growing international pressure for Damascus to end its political and military domination of its tiny neighbour.-Agencies
