The Syrian backed militant group Hezbollah organized a pro-Syrian rally in central Beirut Tuesday to counter the recent rallies held by Lebanese who oppose the ongoing Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Estimates place the crowd at roughly 50,000 people.

Banners written on the Lebanese flag included 'Thank you Syria,' written in English almost certainly for the foreign press and 'No to foreign interference.'

Some reports indicated that there were people being brought across the Lebanese border from Syria to take part in the rally although that could not be confirmed.

Meanwhile, Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has announced that Syrian troops would redeploy and relocate closer to the Syrian border. However, Assad indicated that any true withdrawal of Syrian troops would have to be determined by future negotiations. The White House has indicated that the relocation of Syrian troops was not sufficient and again called for a full withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence officers.

Syria has been occupying Lebanon since 1976, shortly after the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War. The war ended in 1990 but Syrian troops continue to occupy Lebanon today. The Lebanese government is also beholden to Damascus.

Since the recent assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, international pressure for Syrian withdrawal has increased. Syria continues to deny it was involved in the murder of Hariri.