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Withdrawal of Troops – 1997

Syria and Israel did not withdraw their troops from Lebanon in 1997.

1998: The strength of the South Lebanon Army deteriorated in south Lebanon due to persistent resistance by Hezbollah. On March 1, 1998, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the acceptance of Resolutions 425 with condition of receiving security guarantee from Lebanon.¹ No information available about the withdrawal of Syrian troops.

1999: In early June 1999, Israel’s proxy militia pulled back from the strategic Jezzine region in what was widely seen as a trial run for a full Israeli withdrawal.² No information available about the withdrawal of Syrian troops.

2000-2005: The troop withdrawal component of the Taif agreement was not fully implemented even though 10 years had passed since the signing of the agreement. On 24 May 2000, Israel completely withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon.³ The move was also welcomed by Syria. On May 31, 2000, Syria agreed that Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon was complete, implementing resolution 425.⁴ After Israel’s withdrawal, Syria gradually withdrew some of its troops from Lebanon (five redeployments). Nevertheless, as of 2004, there were still 20,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon.

As Security Council Resolution 1559 demanded withdrawal of Syrian troops in September 2004, Syria started limited withdrawal of troops from Beirut. By 30 September 2004 about 3,000 Syrian troops were pulled out of outskirts of Beirut.⁵ But this limited withdrawal was viewed as the breach of the resolution which had demanded for complete withdrawal. As the international pressure mounted for the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, the Syrian president announced a two stage withdrawal of its troops in Lebanon to the border. However, as the pressure to provide timeline of withdrawal grew, Syria said that, ” it would withdraw one-third of its 15,000 troops and 5,000 intelligence agents in Lebanon by the end of March, as the first stage of an operation”. In the second stage, the remaining military and intelligence assets were to be withdrawn into Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley by the end of the month leading to the shutdown of the intelligence headquarters in Beirut by April 1.⁶ On 26 April 2005, Syria officially informed UN of final withdrawal from Lebanon.

1. “Key dates in Israel’s 22-year involvement in Lebanon,” Agence France Presse, March 5, 2000.
2. Ibid.
3. “Israel Empties Out of Southern Lebanon, Leaving Security Vacuum,” CNN, May 24, 2000.
4. “Syria agrees Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon is complete,” Agence France Presse, May 31, 2000.
5. “Syria Completes Limited Troop Withdrawal from Lebanon,” World Markets Analysis, September 30, 2004.
6. “Syria lays out withdrawal of troops from Lebanon,” The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey), March 13, 2005.