LEBANON - June 14 - Syrian Troops Leave Beirut.

A Syrian officer says in a Lebanese Army statement: "We have started the redeployment operation. We evacuated five positions and handed them over to the Lebanese Army". (The Syrian troops withdrawal from Greater Beirut, as stipulated in the 1989 Ta'if agreement that it should be completed by 1992, has long been demanded by the Christians who say the Syrian presence has become the most divisive factor as it has tipped the balance of power in favour of the Muslims. The Syrian move follows the Pope's recent visit to Syria and subsequent rumours that he struck a deal with the Syrian regime to defuse the situation in Lebanon before Damascus resumes peace negotiations with Israel. The Ta'if accord, which formally ended the civil war, stripped the Maronites of much of the political dominance they had traditionally enjoyed. It stipulated a Syrian pullout from Beirut and other major cities by 1992, and Syria's Christian critics complain that this has not occurred. The crusade for a Syrian pullout, led by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir has also increased tensions between the Syrians and their Muslim Lebanese allies. Lebanon's nationwide split was shown in the tumultuous turnout of 150,000 Christians, who took to the streets to welcome Patriarch Sfeir home from a trip last March. The crowd called for Syrians to go home and to let Lebanon regain its sovereignty. Sfeir's thunderous reception was met by a rival show of force a few days later by the Hizbollah leader Shaikh Hassan Nasrallah, who defended Syria's military role during a religious ceremony that drew 150,000 Shiites. Secret talks, under Pres. Lahoud's sponsorship, have been taking place between Sfeir and top Syrian leaders. Lahoud also initiated national reconciliation talks with Patriarch Sfeir, who has assumed the political leadership of the Maronites since their defeat at the end of the war. On June 13, Sfeir called for Lebanon to be "free and sovereign, minding its own business free of any outside interference". One of the major criticisms has been that the Syrian soldiers have surrounded Lebanon's presidential palace in Baabda and Ministry of Defence in Yarze. The Syrian announcement coincides with a visit by UN Sec.-Gen. Kofi Annan to Syria and Lebanon in an attempt to revive the Middle East peace process. Assad is keen to win international support for his insistence that Israel must return the Golan Heights. Syrian troops have been in Lebanon since 1976, when they intervened in its civil war. The Syrian-brokered 1989 Ta'if agreement envisaged that Syrian troops would by 1992 move to the Bekaa valley. But a continuing show of force has reflected Syria's role as power-broker in Lebanon). Syrian tanks and troops evacuated from the Greater Beirut area continued to more out of Lebanon on June 16. Syrian troops have left 14 positions in East Beirut.