| Syria to pull
one-third of its forces from Lebanon by March 31: report  WASHINGTON - Syria has promised to withdraw
one-third of its 15,000 troops and 5,000 intelligence agents in Lebanon by the end of
March, The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing US and UN sources.
President Bashar al-Assad also vowed to shut down Syria's intelligence headquarters in
Beirut by April 1, in talks Saturday in the Syrian city of Aleppo with UN envoy Terje
Roed-Larsen, the daily said.
Roed-Larsen announced after the meeting that Assad had agreed to remove all Syrian
military and intelligence personnel from Lebanon in two stages."The first stage will
see the relocation of all military forces and intelligence apparatus to the Bekaa valley
by the end of March," the UN envoy said.
"Further, a significant number of these Syrian forces, including intelligence
(personnel), will be withdrawn from Lebanon into Syria during this stage.
"The second stage will lead to a complete and full withdrawal of all Syrian military
personnel, assets and intelligence apparatus," Roed-Larsen said in a statement read
to AFP in Beirut.
Roed-Larsen did not immediately provide further details of the timetable, saying they
would be presented to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York early next week.
He did not give a date for the final withdrawal of all forces.
That is to be decided by a joint Lebanese-Syrian military commission that will meet on
April 7, according to the Post, which cited unnamed "Western sources familiar with
the negotiations."
US officials welcomed Assad's pledges but expressed concern about Syria's failure to
provide a final pullout date, the Post said.
Washington will insist the second stage brings "a complete and prompt
withdrawal," and will not tolerate any "dilatory lingering," a senior
administration official told the daily, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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