Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese flooded central Beirut this afternoon for a pro-Syrian rally called by Hizbullah that dwarfed previous protests demanding Syrian troops quit Lebanon.
As the mainly Shia Muslim crowds thronged Riad al-Solh square, a security source said Syrian forces had begun moving eastwards under a phased withdrawal plan announced yesterday.
Hizbullah and Lebanese security sources said one million people attended the rally, which Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah called to thank Syria for its "sacrifices" in Lebanon and to oppose a UN resolution saying militias must disarm.
The huge Hizbullah rally was the first major show of popular support for Syria in Beirut since the February 14th assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri sparked daily anti-Syrian protests - mainly involving Maronite Christians.
Those protests, which drew tens of thousands on Monday, take place in Martyrs Square, 300 metres from the scene of the gathering organised by Hizbullah and its allies.
Shias, Lebanon's largest community, condemned Mr Hariri's killing, but few joined Christian, Druze and Sunni Muslim critics of Syria's military and political role in the country.
Shias and many other Lebanese are proud of Hizbullah's role in forcing Israel to end its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000.
The rival demonstrations, each using the Lebanese cedar flag to show patriotism, reveal deep rifts in Lebanon over Syria's role and international demands for Hizbullah to disarm.
Popular agitation in Lebanon, combined with intense world pressure, has prompted Syria to announce plans to end its 29-year military presence in its smaller neighbour.
The Lebanese source did not say which positions the Syrians were evacuating, but witnesses reported troops on the move in several places on mountain ridges east of Beirut.