UN 'happy' with Syria withdrawal

The UN team says it is happy with what it has seen so far

The UN team checking that Syrian troops have withdrawn from Lebanon says it is "satisfied" with the mission so far.

The team led by a top peacekeeping advisor has been viewing army positions in the Bekaa Valley, a week after Syria said it pulled its last forces out.

However, the UN has complained that armed guards prevented the team from entering a Palestinian guerrilla camp.

Lebanese PM Najib Mikati has been in Syria for his first meetings abroad since he took office last month.

There has been criticism he chose Syria for his first trip, as many in Lebanon want to loosen ties with Damascus.

Opposition supporters blame Syria for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February. Syria denies any involvement.

Mr Mikati has said he will discuss reports that some Syrian soldiers are still occupying a position on the Lebanese side of the border.

Palestinian incident

The UN team has "not encountered a single Syrian soldier" in areas that it has inspected, Brig Gen Elhadji Mouhamadou Kandji told the AFP news agency.

However, Lebanese security officials said that as the team tried to approach a base in the border village of Qussaya, where pro-Syrian radical Palestinian group PFLP-GC has positions, an armed guard blocked the road and fired a volley of shots in the air as the inspectors turned away.

The PFLP-GC blamed the incident on a misunderstanding.

"The inspectors of the United Nations are welcome," PFLP-GC leader in Lebanon Abu Anwar told AFP.

No one was hurt in the encounter, but a statement issued by UN secretary general Kofi Anna's spokesman said he was "gravely concerned" and expected the team to be given "full and unconditional freedom of movement" across the country.

UN resolution 1559, under which Syria's forces pulled out, demands the withdrawal of outside forces and the disarming of militias, including Palestinian guerrillas.