BEIRUT, Lebanon: Hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Lebanese gathered in central Beirut Tuesday for a demonstration organized by pro-Damascus movements led by Iran-founded Hezbollah group to counter weeks of massive rallies that demand Syrian forces leave Lebanon.

Addressing the crowd, Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrullah, flanked by his bodyguards, urged the Lebanese opposition to join a national unity government and reject a UN demand for the Syrians to quit and his own militia to disarm.

US President Bush again told Syria to take its hands off Lebanon before parliamentary polls due by May.

“All Syrian military forces and intelligence personnel must withdraw before the Lebanese elections for those elections to be free and fair,” he said in a speech in Washington.

The Lebanese army said that as the crowds thronged Riad As-Solh square Tuesday, Syrian forces began moving eastwards under a phased withdrawal plan announced Monday.

The rally was the first major show of popular support for Syria in Beirut since the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Al-Hariri touched off daily anti-Syrian protests, mainly involving Maronite Christians.

Loudspeakers blared songs of resistance. Demonstrators held up pictures of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Lebanese president Emile Lahoud, slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrullah, Amal Chief Nabhi Berri and signs saying, “Syria & Lebanon brothers forever.”

Black-clad Hezbollah guards handled security, lining the perimeter of the square and taking position on rooftops. Trained dogs sniffed for bombs.

In the outlying regions of the Bekaa and the south, loudspeakers urged followers to travel to Beirut for the protest. A newspaper reported that convoys of Syrians were being brought across the border in buses to participate.

Opposition leaders accused Lebanese intelligence agents of exercising pressure on municipalities, public schools and institutions to drive up the number of demonstrators.   

Hezbollah backs Syrian presence, fueling tensions 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.