Lebanon's most prominent anti-Syria Christian leader returned to a hero's welcome in Beirut on Saturday, ending more than a decade in exile 11 days after the last Syrian soldier withdrew from the country. "Today is a day of joy, a day for jubilation. I'm back," Michel Aoun told reporters at Beirut airport after a chartered plane flew him, his family and top aides from France, landing shortly before 5 pm (1400 GMT). "A black cloud oppressed Lebanon for 15 years. Today the sun of freedom is shining. I'm returning to look to the future and rebuild Lebanon together," he said, flanked by his daughters and grandchildren. Before driving to Martyr's square, Aoun placed wreaths at the tombs of the unknown soldier and Hariri.
Aoun's defeat at the hands of a Syrian-led assault on his powerbase in and around Beirut on October 13, 1990, marked the end of the Lebanese civil war.
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