CHTOURA, Lebanon — Most days, this town near the Syrian border would be bustling with shoppers from Damascus and Lebanese travelers stopping for a meal on their way east to Syria.
But weeks of political turmoil in Lebanon have all but halted the flow of Syrian cars. The most conspicuous vehicles heading toward Damascus these days, residents say, are Syrian military trucks carrying troops as part of the country's promised phased withdrawal from Lebanon.
Trade in Chtoura has plummeted, and thousands of Syrian laborers in the area have fled home out of fear they will be targeted as part of the broad outcry over Syria's presence in Lebanon.
Sitting in the verdant Bekaa Valley midway between Damascus and the Lebanese capital of Beirut, people in this crossroads of geography and commerce find themselves torn over Syrian President Bashar Assad's pledge to withdraw soldiers and intelligence officers from Lebanon.
Many Chtoura residents say they will be glad to see Syria go, allowing Lebanon to govern itself unfettered. But amid expressions of nationalism, many also acknowledge feeling gratitude toward the Syrians for their efforts to restore order during and after Lebanon's 15-year civil war.
Those sentiments were on display Sunday, following word that Assad had assured United Nations special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen of his commitment to comply with the U.N. resolution calling for a full withdrawal of Syria's 14,000 troops. Roed-Larsen did not disclose a timetable, saying he would first report to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week.
"If you come into my house and I give you coffee, what do you say? 'Thank you,' " said shopkeeper Mahmoud Irheme, a 55-year-old Shiite Muslim. "That's what we should say."
Between hungry puffs on a cigarette, Irheme noted that Syrian forces had been invited by Lebanon to keep the peace when they came in 1976 after the start of the civil war. During ensuing years, he said, Damascus would supply flour when there were bread shortages and electricity during blackouts.
At a time when the fighting left many residents too afraid to venture outside, Irheme said Syria "stopped the bloodshed."
His wife, Fatme Halabi, 45, said, "We don't want it to withdraw humiliated."
Those most vocal in calling for a complete pullout say the time for Syria to end its heavy-handed meddling is long overdue. Under a 1989 accord ending the civil war, Syrian troops were to begin leaving by 1992, but the provision was never put into effect. Damascus has dominated its neighbor's politics since.
