26 April 2005
UN Military Team Set To Leave For Lebanon Today To Verify Syrian Withdrawal
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is dispatching a United Nations military team to Lebanon today to verify whether there has
been a full and complete withdrawal of all Syrian troops, military assets and intelligence apparatus as mandated by
Security Council resolution 1559.
A UN spokesman said Mr. Annan had asked the mission to complete its work as soon as possible following an accord worked
out earlier this month by his special envoy on this issue, under which Syria agreed to withdraw from its smaller
neighbour by 30 April, ending a physical presence that began with the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war.
"He expects those governments to cooperate fully with the mission and provide it with the necessary support and
assistance to carry out its task," spokesman Stephane Dujarric told the daily news briefing in New York.
Mr. Annan is scheduled to issue a second report on the situation by Tuesday and will present the findings of the
verification team to the Security Council as a supplement.
The team will be comprised of Brigadier General Elhadji Mouhamadou Kandji of Senegal, currently the Deputy Military
Adviser in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), Colonel Ian Sinclair of the United Kingdom, currently
Chief of Staff of the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus, and Commander Kari Olavi Makinen of Finland, currently in the
DPKO Missions Operations Service.
Mr. Annan's Special Envoy for implementing "http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/res/1559(2004)"resolution 1559, Terje Roed-Larsen, reached the agreement with Syria and Lebanon after several weeks of shuttle
diplomacy. The Council passed the resolution last September but the matter gained added urgency after the assassination
in February of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri increased tensions.
A UN advance party is also arriving this week in Lebanon to prepare the ground for an international independent
investigation Commission set up by the Security Council to probe Mr. Hariri's murder, after an initial UN fact-finding
mission found Lebanon's own probe seriously flawed and declared Syria, with its troop presence, primarily responsible
for the political tension preceding the assassination.
ENDS