Syria vows full Lebanon pullout

A final withdrawal timetable is to be set before Saturday

Syria has confirmed it will pull all its troops out of Lebanon before Lebanese elections due in May.

Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara made the pledge in a letter to the UN.

Syria has already begun the withdrawal, following an outcry over the assassination last month of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri.

The Lebanese opposition accused Syria of being behind the killing, and street protests led to the downfall of the pro-Syrian administration in Beirut.

Prime Minister Omar Karami stood down two weeks after the 14 February bomb blast that killed Hariri.

President Emile Lahoud reinstated him on 10 March, but he has said he plans to quit again on Wednesday after apparently failing to form a national unity government.

Damascus has denied any involvement in the assassination, and there have been rallies in Lebanon in support of a continued Syrian presence.

But troop levels, which once stood at 40,000, were down to 8,000 on Monday after departures in the last few days.

A UN resolution sponsored by the US and France in September called for a full withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence services.

Correspondents say nobody expected a withdrawal to happen so quickly, but Hariri's assassination changed everything.

Reuters news agency quoted Syrian UN Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad as saying that a joint Syrian-Lebanese committee would meet before Saturday to set a timetable for full withdrawal.

The UN Security Council has been meeting to discuss whether to authorise an international investigation into Mr Hariri's death.