Huge anti-Syria demonstrations in Beirut: Hundreds of Thousands in Lebanon Protest Syria.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in central Beirut on Monday in the largest anti-Syrian protest in Lebanon since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri exactly a month ago.

Flag-waving crowds from across Lebanon gathered in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut, just meters away from Hariri’s grave, to demand an international inquiry into his killing, the sacking of Syrian-backed security chiefs and a total Syrian pullout.

Unlike previous anti-Syrian opposition protests since a bomb blast killed Hariri on Feb. 14, many Sunni Muslims joined Druze and Christians in taking to the streets. Hariri was a Sunni.

The opposition rally came a day after huge crowds turned out in the south for a anti-U.S. demonstration organized by Lebanon’s Shi’ite Muslim Hizbollah group, an ally of Syria.

Anti-Syrian protesters carry Lebanese flags during a rally in Beirut March 14, 2005. Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in central Beirut on Monday in the largest anti-Syrian protest in Lebanon since the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri exactly a month ago. REUTERS/Sharif Karim

UPDATE at 3/14/05 8:07:05 am:

Lots more on the protests at Publius Pundit.