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BEIRUT, March 15: Syrian military intelligence units began pulling our of positions in Beirut on Tuesday in what appeared to be a bid by Damascus to demonstrate a clear commitment to quitting Lebanon militarily once and for all.
The evacuation came a day after a big opposition rally here intensified public pressure for a Syrian pullout and followed a weekend commitment to a UN envoy by Syrian President Bashar al Assad to call home all his troops and intelligence operatives.
In Washington, the White House said it had seen ?some positive steps? towards a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, but kept the pressure on Damascus for a total pullout before May parliamentary elections.
?We want to see Syria out of Lebanon by the elections so those elections can be free and fair without any outside intimidation,? spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
?There have been some signs that are encouraging, but we need to see by their actions, and not their words, a complete withdrawal,? the spokesman said.
Asked for a US assessment of Syrian military and intelligence units seen leaving, Mr McClellan replied: ?That?s what I?m referring to when I say there have been some positive steps, but we need to see a complete withdrawal.?
EVACUATION: Members of the Syrian intelligence service were seen loaded a truck with furniture and personal effects from a building along the Mediterranean coast.
Military intelligence officers in civilian clothing supervised the evacuation of three Syrian intelligence offices in the area, with streets closed off by Lebanese gendarmes.
Another intelligence facility, located on Hamra Street in the commercial district, was also being abandoned, with cartons loaded aboard a small truck in an operation watched by police.
President Assad on Saturday gave a commitment to United Nations special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen to comply with Security Council Resolution 1559, which was approved last September and calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence units.
Mr Larsen said he would this week present UN chief Kofi Annan with a timetable for a full Syrian departure from Lebanon, where its troops have been stationed since 1976.?AFP
The evacuation came a day after a big opposition rally here intensified public pressure for a Syrian pullout and followed a weekend commitment to a UN envoy by Syrian President Bashar al Assad to call home all his troops and intelligence operatives.
In Washington, the White House said it had seen ?some positive steps? towards a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, but kept the pressure on Damascus for a total pullout before May parliamentary elections.
?We want to see Syria out of Lebanon by the elections so those elections can be free and fair without any outside intimidation,? spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
?There have been some signs that are encouraging, but we need to see by their actions, and not their words, a complete withdrawal,? the spokesman said.
Asked for a US assessment of Syrian military and intelligence units seen leaving, Mr McClellan replied: ?That?s what I?m referring to when I say there have been some positive steps, but we need to see a complete withdrawal.?
EVACUATION: Members of the Syrian intelligence service were seen loaded a truck with furniture and personal effects from a building along the Mediterranean coast.
Military intelligence officers in civilian clothing supervised the evacuation of three Syrian intelligence offices in the area, with streets closed off by Lebanese gendarmes.
Another intelligence facility, located on Hamra Street in the commercial district, was also being abandoned, with cartons loaded aboard a small truck in an operation watched by police.
President Assad on Saturday gave a commitment to United Nations special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen to comply with Security Council Resolution 1559, which was approved last September and calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence units.
Mr Larsen said he would this week present UN chief Kofi Annan with a timetable for a full Syrian departure from Lebanon, where its troops have been stationed since 1976.?AFP
