Syrian troops start Lebanon pullback

Syrian soldiers help each other in carrying their belongings as they prepare to leave their post in the Lebanese mountain city of Aley, 20 km east of Beirut, yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

But no deadline was set for their complete withdrawal, and Washington rejected the pullback as insufficient.

Lacking a timeline, the plan also was unlikely to satisfy the Lebanese opposition and the international community, which have demanded that all 14,000 Syrian soldiers leave the country.

More than 70,000 Lebanese shouting "Freedom! Sovereignty! Independence!" thronged Beirut in the biggest demonstration yet of anti-Syria anger that has fueled recent street protests. The demonstrators waved Lebanon's cedar-tree flag and thundered, "Syria out!"

"Yes, for withdrawal to the Bekaa, but, yes, first to the full withdrawal behind the Lebanese-Syrian border," opposition lawmaker Walid Eido told the protesters.

The demonstrators marched to the site of a Feb. 14 bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and touched off the angry but peaceful street protests that drove Lebanon's pro-Syrian government to resign a week ago. Many Lebanese accuse the Syrian government and their former government of responsibility for Hariri's death; both deny any involvement.

Earlier Monday, Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Lebanese counterpart, Emile Lahoud, met in Syria's capital, Damascus, to outline plans for shifting Syrian troops closer to the border by the end of March. But they were vague on the timing of a complete withdrawal from Lebanon.