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BEIRUT, Mar 9 (AFP): Lebanon's Damascus-backed President Emile Lahoud holds consultations with lawmakers Wednesday to try to form a new government, emboldened by a mass pro-Syrian rally in Beirut that drew hundreds of thousands of protestors.
The political horsetrading begins as Syrian troops started to pull back to the east of Lebanon under a two-stage withdrawal announced at a summit between Lahoud and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad Monday in the face of intense international pressure.
Syria's ambassador to the United States said the troops would be out of Lebanon by May, when legislative elections are due to be held.
"They are actually being withdrawn today," Imad Moustapha told CNN television Tuesday. "We will do this as soon as possible, even long time before May."
The comment followed a fresh call by US President George W. Bush for Syria's military and intelligence forces to be out of Lebanon before the elections and a warning to Assad against resorting to "delaying tactics and half measures."
Lebanon's caretaker Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Murad said the redeployment of some 6,000 Syrian troops towards the eastern Bekaa valley had begun Tuesday and would take between a week and 10 days.
The withdrawal will also cover Syrian intelligence personnel, including their headquarters in Beirut, a senior Lebanese military official said.
Lahoud was due to hold mandatory parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister following the resignation of the government last week in the face of mass protests triggered by the February 14 killing of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.
Prime Minister Omar Karameh, who succeeded Hariri, quit last Monday after just four months in office but remains caretaker premier until the formation of a new government.
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