Chinese troops begin withdrawal from quake zone

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese troops began withdrawing from the quake-hit province of Sichuan on Monday, as rescue work shifts to reconstruction more than two months after the tremor killed at least 70,000 people. China mobilized 130,000 troops and armed police in the weeks following the May 12 earthquake. The first group of 40,000 began pulling out on the orders of President Hu Jintao, who also chairs the Central Military Commission.

"The order highly praised the contribution made by the troops and armed police to the quake-hit areas and people," the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Remaining forces would continue their work in repairing roads, clearing up and epidemic prevention, the report said.

The 7.9-magnitude earthquake devastated the southwestern province of Sichuan and parts of neighboring provinces, leaving whole towns flattened, 370,000 injured and more than 10 million homeless.

Troops from the People's Liberation Army were involved in efforts to pull survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings, repairing infrastructure and setting up temporary tent cities where the homeless are being housed.

(Reporting by Lindsay Beck; Editing by Nick Macfie)