<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>UN backs Lebanon sovereignty call


</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> Correspondents say Emile Lahoud is Syria's strongest ally in Lebanon

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->The UN Security Council has narrowly adopted a resolution demanding that foreign troops leave Lebanon and that Lebanese sovereignty be respected.

The resolution is aimed at Syria, which has troops in the country and strongly backs Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a close ally of Damascus.

The Beirut parliament votes on Friday on a plan to change the constitution and allow Mr Lahoud a second term.

The US and French-backed resolution got nine votes, the minimum needed to pass.

The other six members of the Security Council abstained.

Compromise

The resolution was amended to ensure it would pass. A demand "that Syrian forces withdraw without delay from Lebanon" was changed to demand "that foreign forces withdraw without delay from Lebanon".

<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> Syrian forces have been in Lebanon since 1976

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US ambassador John Danforth told the council: "We believe Lebanon should be allowed to determine its own future and assume control of its own territory.

"Yet the Lebanese people are still unable to exercise their rights as a free people to make those choices and to take those steps as a nation."

A senior Lebanese official had asked council members to withdraw the resolution, saying the body had never interfered in this manner in the internal affairs of a member-state.

Mohammed Issa, Lebanon's secretary-general for foreign affairs, said Syrian troops were in the country at his government's request to help rebuff "radical action emanating from Israel".

'Strongest ally'

Mr Lahoud is Syria's strongest ally in Lebanon, where about 17,000 Syrian troops are still stationed.

Syria has been pushing for an extension of the mandate of Mr Lahoud, whose six-year term ends in November. The country's constitution forbids presidents from seeking re-election.

BBC Beirut correspondent Kim Ghattas says many Lebanese politicians are opposed to the extension of Mr Lahoud's term.

They say the decision was made in Damascus and imposed on top Lebanese officials.

Syria's involvement in Lebanon dates back to 1976, when it sent troops into Lebanon to try to quell a year-old civil war. The war raged on for another 14 years.

The troops have remained and Damascus' military and political influence in Lebanon remains strong. Syria is believed to be the main backer of Hezbollah. Damascus argues its influence in Lebanon is a stabilising one. <!-- E BO -->

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/3622260.stm



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