BEIRUT, Lebanon: Lebanon's Iran-, Syria-backed Hezbollah movement declared on Sunday it would side with the pro-Syrian Lebanese government, a move that increases tension among the country's ethnic factions over Syrian domination.

Large protests for independence have forced Syria to accept a pullback of its 15,000 troops that were left over from Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.

Speaking at a news conference, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrullah accused the independence movement of seeking to replace Syrian influence with that of the United States and Israel.

“The aim of America and Israel is to spread chaos in Lebanon and bring it back to a state of chaos,” he said.

Nasrullah called for a mass demonstration Tuesday by pro-government and Hezbollah supporters near Martyrs' Square to show how many Lebanese oppose the anti-Syrian drive, to express gratitude to Syria and to denounce UN Resolution 1559, which demands a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and for Hezbollah to disarm.

Earlier Sunday, the leaders of Lebanese movements loyal to Damascus held a meeting in Beirut. Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrullah who is leading a group of pro-Syria factions, Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi from the Islamic Brotherhood, Druze leader Talal Arslan and Christian Phalangist leader Karim Pakradouni attended.