Lebanon and Syria have announced that Damascus will pull back more of its troops from key positions inside Lebanon.
A Lebanese Army statement Saturday said the move was a joint decision by both countries.
The unspecified number of security forces, which will include some from Syria's powerful intelligence service, will withdraw from areas near Beirut's airport and nearby Shi'ite neighborhoods, as well as from Batroun, north of the capital. It is not clear whether they will return to Syria or take up positions in eastern Lebanon, near the Syrian border.
Syria has come under increasing international pressure to end its nearly 30 year-long presence in Lebanon.
In September, the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 1559, which tacitly called for Syria's 14,000 troops to leave Lebanon. Days later, Syrian troops began a limited pullback from positions around Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP, Reuters.
