Lebanese look to May elections

With Washington wary that Syria would leave "intelligence assets" behind, a UN team of experts is in Damascus on a mission to verify the historic pullout, which brought to an end Syria's 29-year military hold on its neighbor.

Lebanese danced in the streets and Syrians waved national flags as the last Syrian troops crossed the border back home Tuesday in the face of relentless international pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"Lebanon enters new era with Syrian pullout," said the English-language The Daily Star.

"Lebanon is finally left to the Lebanese," headlined the French-language L'Orient-Le Jour. The country now faces "a new page, full of hope for the future... even if there are a lot of problems to resolve."

The departure of the Syrian troops, who first moved into Lebanon as a buffer force a year after the start of the 1975-1990 civil war, was greeted warily by the United States, while the United Nations said it was awaiting verification.

Lebanon is now planning to hold elections by the end of May, most likely starting on May 29, which the country hopes will put a lid on weeks of turmoil triggered by the February killing of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

Syria's domination over the past three decades has been so pervasive and so painful to the Lebanese that many remain wary that Damascus could ever end its interference.

"If someone had told me two months ago that all the Syrian soldiers would leave Lebanon, I would have taken him for a fool," said a European diplomat.

But even with the troops gone, Syria's influence remains strong, with close allies in President Emile Lahoud and parliament speaker Nabih Berri as well as the powerful Shiite movements Amal and Hezbollah.

New prime minister designate Nagib Miqati, regarded as a compromise candidate who formed a government only a week ago to pave the way for elections, is also a close friend of Assad's.

US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli called the pullout "an important first step" towards compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559 which order foreign forces out of Lebanon.

He also said Syria was obliged to withdraw its intelligence officers and "I think there are some lingering concerns that not all Syrian intelligence assets are out of Lebanon."

Damascus formally notified the United Nations on Tuesday of the "complete withdrawal" of its troops and intelligence agents in a letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The UN chief said in a report to the Security Council that he had received assurances from both Lebanon and Syria that military intelligence agents had not stayed behind.

But Annan said he could not actually verify the pullout until a technical team which is due to visit both Damascus and Beirut, reported back to him.