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Article: Lebanese reclaim homes long occupied by Syrian troops; This weekend, homeowners returned to property that they had not seen for almost three decades.(WORLD)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- March 21, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Nicholas Blanford Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
BOIS DE BOULOGNE, LEBANON -- Although he lives only a few miles away, Walid Riachi gazed Saturday for the first time at the hotel his grandfather built and ran in the 1930s.
He and his brother inherited the three-story stone building when their father died in 1983. But they were never able to see the property because it fell within a Syrian military zone.
"It's amazing to be here, to see it at last," Mr. Riachi says.
Just a few days ago, the hotel housed Syrian soldiers. They were part of an army brigade that took over abandoned houses or sequestered homes in ...