BEIRUT, Feb 26: A US envoy arrived in Lebanon on Saturday to press UN Security Council demands for a full withdrawal by Syrian troops , with no sign of a promised pullback to nearer the border and an international inquiry into the killing of five-time premier Rafiq Hariri just getting under way.

The arrival of David Satterfield, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, met with an angry reaction from supporters of the pro-Syrian government who demanded that officials boycott "the Bremer of Lebanon", a reference to former Iraq civil administrator Paul Bremer.

The pro-government parties also called on their supporters to mount a counter-demonstration on Monday, when the opposition plans to put a censure motion before parliament and bring its sympathizers on to the streets in a general strike.-AFP