The protest was organized by the so called "Youth Campaign" of the Hezbollah movement and other pro-Syrian factions such as Syrian National Social Party, the Ba'ath party and other pro-Syrian groups. The protesters were mainly students and political activists.

Lebanese troops and anti-riot police surrounded the embassy as students ferried in by buses from across the country converged on the diplomatic mission.

The troops kept the protesters at bay some 500 meters (yards) from the embassy.

Drowned in a sea of Lebanese flags and under driving rain, the protesters chanted slogans hostile to the US administration, accusing Washington and its ambassador in Lebanon, Jeffrey Feltman, of "interference" in Lebanese affairs.

Several protesters, interviewed on Hezbollah's Al-Manar television which aired the protest live, slammed UN Security Council Resolution 1559 that demanded the disarming of Hezbollah's militia and pro-Palestinian fighters.

Feltman has said Lebanon must respect international resolutions.

Hisham Tabaraa, the main organizer of the protest, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, "We are here to say no to the Americans and their Lebanese allies."

Tabaraa referred to the lead story in the pro-Syrian daily As Safir which cited unnamed sources as saying that US Ambassador Jeffery Feltman said that US aid to Lebanon "depends on the Lebanese government's ability to get rid of Hezbollah."

The embassy, meanwhile, issued a statement to express its "shock" over the report in the pro-Syrian Beirut newspaper As-Safir on Tuesday that the ambassador had said it was "time to get rid of Hezbollah."

"By inventing such a story, As-Safir clearly hopes to provoke increased tensions in Lebanon at a time when responsible people are looking for ways to lower tensions," it said.

"Because of the dangers that some people will mistakenly believe such stories and act upon them, the embassy must consider these fabrications to be a direct threat against ambassador Feltman's safety," the embassy said.

The majority of the Lebanese do not share Hezbollah's perception of the US in Lebanon. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said he considered such a role to be in harmony with Lebanon's national interests.

"This is not interference," he said. "The Americans are not imposing the appointment of employees or heads of certain apparatuses (this in reference to Syria's role during occupation when they interfered in every key government appointment); they are not interfering in forming governments or extending the term of the president (this is again in reference to what Syria did when it forced the extension of Lahoud's term); they are not disbanding a party and sending politicians to exile (like what Syria did with Geagea and Aoun).

"The demonstration was the second anti-US protest in Lebanon since Saturday, when riot police used tear-gas and water cannon against demonstrators led by Hezbollah who were protesting against a visit by a US envoy to Beirut.

Organizers of Tuesday's demonstration said it was in response to the police's "repression" of last week's protest when 15 demonstrators suffered head injuries and seven policemen were injured by stones and hospitalized.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that his group was ready to engage in dialogue with other anti-Syrian leaders, including majority leader Saad Hariri, "but dialogue with (anti-Syrian leader) Walid Jumblatt is non existent," he said.

Many political observers expected a much larger demonstration, similar to Hezbollah's last March 8 demonstration. "Whether the Anti-Syrians will now follow with their own demonstration like they did last March 14 remains to be seen", one political analyst told Ya Libnan. Samir Geagea has already warned that he will arrange another demonstration similar to the Cedar Revolution of March 14.

Syria through its allies in Lebanon has been trying to destabilize Lebanon, ever since former PM Hariri was assassinated.

The Saudi Arabian government has presented Lebanon and Syria with a proposed agreement to defuse tensions, amid rising Arab alarm over the steady deterioration in relations between the two countries. But if the proposed plan is what has been already rumored in the press, then it will most probably be rejected by the anti Syrian camp, since it calls for a joint Lebanese-Syrian security arrangement. This is a big no-no... after three decades of Syrian occupation, the Lebanese do not want to see Syria's security personnel back in Lebanon.

Following are pictures of the demonstration courtesy of AP and Reuters:

Pro-Syrian demonstrators wave Lebanese flags as they protest, in front of rows of riot police near the U.S Embassy

A demonstrator is holding a poster of U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman and a banner reading "Fel Ya Man" which means "Leave Man"

A demonstrator is holding a poster of U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman (As a Chef) and a banner reading "War Meal", in reference to As safir article mentioned above

Pro Syrian Demonstrators are holding a Lebanese flag and a banner reading "Enough Leave -US". Hezbollah has called for the deminstration to protest against what they called US meddling in internal affairs.

Top picture: Pro-Syrian Lebanese demonstrators hold banners that read "in order to stay united 'No' to US interference". The word united is ironic since the majority of the Lebanese feel that Hezbollah has been trying destabilize the country by imposing its own agenda on Lebanon, ever since Syria withdrew from Lebanon.

Update | BREAKING NEWS

Update 1: At the end of the demonstration the pro-Syrian protesters turned violent. They threw stones and glass bottles at the Lebanese army soldiers and riot police that were trying to keep the demonstration under control. The Lebanese army soldiers used shields for protection. No report of any serious injuries. Stay tuned to Ya Libnan for more developments.

Source: Ya Libnan, , AP, Reuters