Syria out of Lebanon

The last batch of Syrian soldiers in Lebanon left the country to end three decades of direct Syrian military involvement in its small neighbour.

"Farewell to our brothers in the Syrian Arab Army!" a Lebanese officer shouted at a ceremony hours earlier in the Riyyak airbase in the eastern Bekaa Valley, before the last troops piled into buses and headed toward the border.

"Goodbye!" his men responded, to about 200 Syrian troops.

The Feb. 14 assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, blamed by many Lebanese on Damascus, triggered large anti-Syrian opposition protests in Beirut and piled the pressure on Syria to quit.

Analysts, however, say the withdrawal will end Syria's domination of Lebanon but would 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, told Reuters.

"There will continue to be high-level coordination between the two countries as far as bilateral economic relations and the overall peace process in the Middle East," he said.

'Historic day'

The anti-Syrian opposition welcomed the pullout.

"This is a historic day for Lebanon. It ends a long period full of mistakes and hegemony," opposition legislator Nayla Mouawad told Reuters. "The withdrawal met the opposition's demands and leads the way for new balanced relations with Syria."

Dozens of senior Lebanese and Syrian officers attended the Riyyak ceremony. Dozens of flags of both countries flew in the base as marching bands played military music. Medals were exchanged between Syrian and Lebanese officers.

"We will never forget them," soldiers chanted in reference to comrades who died in Lebanon.

"We sacrifice our blood and soul for you, Bashar," Syrian troops chanted, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Lebanon's new government, led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati, has pledged to hold free and fair elections on time in May. Parliament began a two-day meeting on Tuesday to discuss the new government's policy statement and vote it into office.