BEIRUT, 24 September 2004 — About 300 Syrian soldiers in a convoy of trucks and armored vehicles crossed the Lebanese border into Syria yesterday, Lebanese security officials said.

“In all, about 3,000 Syrian soldiers will eventually return to Syria in the next few days as part of the redeployment plan,” a senior Lebanese military official told reporters.

He said the convoy, which included tanks and armored personnel carriers, traveled along the mountain highway between Beirut and Damascus and crossed the border.

He expected the redeployment, which began on Tuesday, to be completed within four days.

Syrian soldiers were seen Wednesday removing telephone lines, packing equipment and loading ammunition boxes and luggage into trucks at their bases near the western Lebanese towns of Aramoun, Chuweifat, Damour, Doha and Khaldeh.

Some of the Syrian troops will go to the Bekaa Valley in east Lebanon, near the Syrian border, where most of Syria’s forces in Lebanon are based.

On Sept. 2, the UN Security Council resolution called on Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and allow the country to hold presidential elections as scheduled. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is due to report to the Security Council early next month on Lebanon.

The United States and France drafted the resolution and it was co-sponsored by Britain and Germany.

Syria maintains the redeployment has nothing to do with international demands but is a response to improved security in Lebanon.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Colin Powell praised Syria for dismantling military camps in the hills above Beirut, calling it a “positive step.” He spoke after talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Shara at the United Nations in New York.

The US ambassador to Lebanon, Jeffrey Feltman, told reporters yesterday his country was watching the Syrian redeployment “very carefully.”

“We are still examining what this may mean,” Feltman said. “At this point, it is too early for me to offer a judgment.”

Syria sent its army into Lebanon in 1976, a year after the civil war began. By the end of the 15-year conflict, it was the undisputed power broker of the country.

Lebanese Christian opposition groups have criticized this week’s redeployment as insufficient and demanded that Syria comply with the UN demands for a complete withdrawal from Lebanon.

The Lebanese government says the Syrians are still needed in Lebanon until there is comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace.

Lebanese lawmakers ignored the Security Council’s demand for presidential elections and amended the constitution to allow pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud to remain in office for three years. Critics saw their vote as evidence of Syria’s influence among Lebanese politicians.