Last Syrian Troops Out of Lebanon
RIYAQ, Lebanon — The last Syrian soldiers in Lebanon packed into ramshackle buses and rumbled homeward Tuesday, putting an end to 29 years of Syrian military domination of its neighbor.
There was a carnival atmosphere in the Bekaa Valley as the soldiers crossed over the border. On a dusty hillside nearby, young Lebanese men formed a circle and broke into a victory dance to celebrate their country's newfound sovereignty. Women joined in, clapping and stomping. They waved Lebanese flags and cheered as music poured from a pickup truck.
But many Lebanese were frightened about political uncertainty, sectarian divisions and the threat of violence that still shadow the country. Lebanon has to prepare for crucial parliamentary elections this spring to establish its first autonomous government since its civil war ended in 1990.
The country will also have to grapple with the role of Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite Muslim political party and militia backed by Syria and Iran. The group has always kept its distance from the government, but may take on a more central role now that Syria is gone.
"It's a victory day, an independence day. We're watching the return of sovereignty to the Lebanese territories," said Fares Souaid, a Maronite Christian lawmaker and prominent Syria opponent. "But now the Lebanese have to face their own problems, and to begin to build a new state."
In a pine-shaded military base in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanese and Syrian soldiers bid one another goodbye Tuesday morning under a blue sky. Most of the Syrian soldiers, whose numbers peaked at 40,000 during the civil war, had already crossed the border, but the ceremony marked the formal end of Syria's military presence.
"Lebanon will endure. Its rocks, its mountains, its waters will stay," Syrian army chief Ali Habib said in farewell remarks to soldiers of both armies. "And that's thanks to the Syrian military presence, which ensured the unity of Lebanon."
Habib spoke of the "deep, brotherly feelings" between Syria and Lebanon, and pledged that the relationship would grow even closer in coming years.
"Brothers in arms, so long," he told the Lebanese soldiers.
"So long," they replied in unison. The army bands played both national anthems, and awards were traded.
Then the Syrian soldiers marched silently over the blacktop and clambered aboard buses plastered with the faces of their president, Bashar Assad, and his late father, former President Hafez Assad.
