SYRIA: Syria withdrew its last soldiers and intelligence agents from Lebanon yesterday, ending a 29-year military presence in its small neighbour.
As the Syrian troops crossed the frontier, many Lebanese hailed their departure as the start of a new era, but analysts said Damascus would remain influential.
"With the completion of the Syrian forces' withdrawal from Lebanon, a new political era in the relations between the two brethren countries starts based on close co-operation in all fields," Lebanon's new prime minister Najib Mikati said.
Syria told the United Nations it had completed its pullout from Lebanon in line with Security Council resolution 1559.
Syrian forces entered the country in 1976 to try to end Lebanon's civil war, which had begun the previous year. But the conflict did not end until 1990.
At different times Syrian forces had fought Muslim and Christian militias, Lebanese army units, Palestinian guerrillas and the Israeli army. Pro-Syrian Lebanese officials say 12,000 Syrian soldiers were killed in Lebanon and many more wounded.
The Syrians dominated Lebanon after the civil war, incurring little serious international opposition until a UN Security Council resolution in September demanded their withdrawal.
The February 14th assassination of Lebanese former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, blamed by many Lebanese on Damascus, triggered large anti-Syrian protests in Beirut and an outcry abroad.
That prompted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to announce on March 5th that he would bring his forces home. The withdrawal, involving about 14,000 troops, took about seven weeks to complete.
"We are very happy. We are celebrating," said Khaled Saleh (24), a computer consultant. "I have been asking for this all my life."
Analysts say the withdrawal will end Syria's domination of Lebanon, but not end its influence altogether. "Definitely there will be a reduction in Syrian involvement in internal Lebanese affairs. They will no longer select high-ranking officials," Samir Baroudi, a political scientist at Beirut's Lebanese American University, said.
"There will continue to be high-level co-ordination between the two countries as far as bilateral economic relations and the overall peace process in the Middle East are concerned."
Israel said it hoped a free and democratic Lebanon would emerge following Syria's withdrawal and see the Lebanese army take over from Hizbullah guerrilla group control of the Lebanon side of the southern border.
"After the Syrian occupation of Lebanon comes to an end, we hope to see the Hizbullah occupation end as well, and that we will see a free and democratic Lebanon living in peace and prosperity next to us," vice-premier Shimon Peres said.
Anti-Syrian opposition leaders welcomed the pull-out.
"This is a historic day for Lebanon. It ends a long period full of mistakes and hegemony," legislator Nayla Mouawad said.
"The withdrawal met the opposition's demands and leads the way for new balanced relations with Syria."