BEIRUT, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of Lebanese gathered Sunday in downtown Beirut to mark the fifth anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
Crowds from across the country moved toward Martyrs' Square earlier Sunday, waving Lebanon's flag and holding Hariri's pictures.
About 200,000 and 300,000 participated in the rally, according to a source.
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| People sit around the picture of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri during a gathering in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 14, 2010. Tens of thousands of Lebanese gathered Sunday in downtown Beirut to mark the fifth anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri |
The gathering came after Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of Rafic Hariri, paid a landmark visit to Damascus last December, pledging in a reconciliation meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to open new prospects on bilateral relations.
The prime minister's visit to Syria ended nearly five years of bitterness with Damascus, suspected of being involved in killing Rafic Hariri in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005. But Syria denied the accusation.
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| Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri (L), son of Rafic Hariri, waves to the crowd in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 14, 2010. |