Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced Saturday that Syria would gradually withdraw its 14,000-strong troops from Lebanon amid international pressure. The following are major facts about Syrian troops in Lebanon.

March 1975 -- Clashes erupted between different parties in Lebanon, triggering a 15-year civil war.

1976 -- About 35,000 Syrian troops entered Lebanon and stayed there as the Syrian Arab Deterrent Force under the authorization of the League of Arab States.

March 1989 -- Lebanon's Christian leader Michel Auon declared a"war of liberation" against Syria. War broke out between Christians, Syrian troops and pro-Syrian Muslims in Lebanon.

October 1989 -- Lebanese Christian and Muslim lawmakers endorsed the Charter of National Reconciliation in Taif, Saudi Arabia. Under the deal, which led to the end of the civil war, Syria should pull out its forces from Beruit and the areas nearby to the Bekaa Valley in two years.

May 1991 -- Lebanese President Elias Hraoui signed a treaty in Damascus with Syrian President Hafez al-Assadand, which announced a special and brotherly relationship and full-scale cooperation and coordination in politics, military and economy between the twocountries. Hraoui also asked Syria to station troops in the Bekaa Valley until Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon.

May 2000 -- Israel accomplished the withdrawal of its troops insouthern Lebanon except the disputed Shebaa farms. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said Syrian troops should not be pulled outfrom his country before a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops inLebanon.

June 2001 -- Syria redeployed its troops in Lebanon and reducedit to 22,000 amid increasing demands of revising the Syrian-Lebanese relations and the withdrawal of Syrian troops in Lebanon.

April 2002 -- Syria again scaled back some of its forces.

Sept. 2, 2004 -- The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1559 calling for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon andrespect for its sovereignty. Following the resolution, Syria pulled thousands of its forces out of Lebanon in September and December. There are about 14,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon now.