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Thousands of people have gathered in the Lebanese capital, many waving flags, to mark the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former prime minister.
Supporters of Lebanon's majority "March 14" camp gathered in Beirut's Martyrs' Square on Sunday for a mass rally marking the occasion amid tight security.
Al-Hariri's assassination in a car bombing on February 14, 2005, is significant for Lebanon as protests in the wake of the killing, combined with international pressure, led to the pullout of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
Syrian forces had been present in Lebanon for 26 years up until that point.
Al-Hariri's death also marked the rise of the March 14 coalition, now led by Saad al-Hariri, the assassinated prime minister's son, named after a day of massive anti-Syrian protests dubbed the "Cedar Revolution".
Reconciliation with Syria
Saad al-Hariri, currently Lebanon's prime minister, has accused Syria of involvement in his father's killing, but he recently reconciled with Damascus, which has always denied accusations that it was behind the bombing.
Speaking at the rally on Sunday, he said his visit to Damascus was "part of inter-Arab reconciliation" efforts launched by King Abdullah, the Saudi Arabian monarch.
"I am keen on launching a new phase of ties between Lebanon and Syria as two sovereign, independent countries," he said.
Nisreen el-Shamayleh, Al Jazeera's correspondent, reporting from Beirut, said that this year's rally was markedly different in the wake of that reconciliation.
"This event used to be used as a platform for the March 14 alliance to voice its anti-Syrian sentiments and rhetoric, but that all changed last December when Saad al-Hariri visited Syria," she said.
"Hariri's future movement said that they wanted this event to be a unifying one, not a divisive one."
Issues 'still hanging'
But Amin Gemayel, a Hariri ally and the head of the Christian Maronite Phalange Party, said the path to reconciliation with Syria was a long one.
"We want Syria to take concrete steps, with a deadline, to bring to an end issues that are still hanging between our countries," he said.
After years of investigations into al-Hariri's assassination, the Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon was formed to try suspects in 2007.
A UN commission of inquiry initially said it had found evidence to implicate Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services, but there are no suspects in custody and Damascus has denied any involvement.
PHOTO CAPTION
Tens of thousands of supporters of Lebanon's majority "March 14" camp flocked into downtown Beirut for a rally marking the fifth anniversary of the slaying of former premier Rafiq Hariri.
Al-Jazeera
