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Beirut's Martyrs' Square was packed solid with people ![](http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif)
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Nearly one million people have gathered for an opposition rally in Beirut, officials say - a month after the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Beirut says the crowds turned the city centre into a sea of red, white and green - the colours of Lebanon's national flag. They were protesting against the presence of Syrian forces in Lebanon. The demonstration surpassed recent pro-Syrian rallies and is thought to be the biggest in Lebanese history. Syria has pulled back some of its troops in Lebanon to the border. Damascus also promised the UN a full timetable for the withdrawal of its 14,000 troops and intelligence agents. The move was cautiously welcomed by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a "positive development". Meanwhile military intelligence officers left two offices in the north, in the town of Amyoun in Koura region and Deir Ammar on the coast, the Associated Press news agency reported. Fears of violence Beirut city official Mounib Nassereddine told AFP news agency more than 800,000 people had turned out for the protest, which would make it the biggest demonstration held in the country's history. AP also estimated the same turnout, with people still arriving. Demonstrators packed Martyrs Square, near where Hariri died in a car bomb, and the crowd spilled over into nearby streets.
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We are coming to liberate our country - we are coming to demand the truth
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The sea of people fell silent at 1255 (1055 GMT), the exact time Hariri was killed four weeks ago. Unlike previous anti-Syrian rallies, Sunni Muslims came out in force to join Druze and Christians to commemorate the loss of their leader. A stream of buses and cars brought protesters from the eastern Bekaa Valley, while others arrived from Junieh in the north by sea. "We are coming to liberate our country. We are coming to demand the truth," Fatma Trad, a Sunni from the northern area of Dinniyeh, told AP. Many offices and schools closed early for the demonstration. Our correspondent says a lot more effort went into organising this event, and the media owned by Hariri was a driving force. The opposition will try to keep the momentum until parliamentary elections in May, she adds.
![Boy painted in the Lebanese national colours at pro-Syrian rally](http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40921000/jpg/_40921973_rally-afp-203body.jpg) Pro-Syrian rallies have been held in recent weeks
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An investigation is continuing into Hariri's death and the opposition has demanded the resignation of senior security officials. Druze opposition MP Marwan Hamadeh told the huge crowd: "You want the truth [about Hariri's killing]? It's clear... the world and Lebanon know them [the killers] well, know them one by one, name by name, rank by rank." Protesters have also been angered by President Emile Lahoud's reinstatement of the pro-Syrian Prime Minister, Omar Karami. Withdrawal commitment But correspondents say fears are growing that protests could spill over into violence, with the authorities considering a ban on protests after Monday. Both President Emile Lahoud and Maronite Christian Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, a leading opposition mentor, have urged dialogue as an alternative to protests as a way out of the crisis. Sunday saw a mass pro-Syrian rally, this time in the town of Nabatiyeh. Tens of thousands of people voiced support for the Syrian military presence and against American intervention at the rally organised by the Hezbollah militant group. After talks in Syria on Saturday with President Assad, UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen announced that he had received a commitment that Damascus would provide details of its withdrawal plan. ![](http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/middle_east_enl_1110818331/img/1.jpg)
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