BEIRUT (AFP) - Syrian troops continued a limited pullback operation from Lebanon for the second consecutive day amid international pressure for a full withdrawal.
"The redeployment operation continues today and it will involve areas south and southeast of Beirut, including Aramun, Damur, Khaldeh and Shuwaifat," a high-ranking Lebanese army official told AFP. "It will take a few days."
Syrian forces have already evacuated several small posts east of Beirut, and continued to regroup in larger positions in the area ahead of expected eastwards pullbacks, witnesses said.
An army official said Tuesday that the redeployment concerned about 3,000 troops, most of whom would return to Syria, leaving about 15,000 soldiers on Lebanese soil.
The redeployment comes 28 years after Syria first sent in its forces after the outbreak of the 1975-1990 civil war. It also comes after the United Nations, the United States and France ratcheted up the pressure on Damascus this month to stop meddling in Lebanon's affairs.
The Syrian redeployment was the latest in a series since 2001 which has seen the number of troops decrease from a high of 35,000 at the end of the war.
Three weeks ago, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1559, sponsored by the United States and France, which called for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon and respect for its sovereignty.