SECRETARY-GENERAL DISPATCHES TEAM TO VERIFY SYRIAN WITHDRAWAL FROM LEBANON

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is dispatching today a team to verify whether there has been a full and complete withdrawal of all Syrian troops, military assets and the intelligence apparatus from Lebanon in keeping with Security Council resolution 1559 (2004).  The deployment is pursuant to an agreement reached between the United Nations and the Governments of Syria and Lebanon.  He expects those Governments to cooperate fully with the mission and provide it with the necessary support and assistance to carry out its task.

The Secretary-General has asked the mission to complete its work as soon as possible.  He will present the findings of the verification team to the Security Council in a report that will supplement the information in his upcoming report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559 which is expected to be released on 26 April.

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