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"It is my civic duty as a Lebanese to take part in this uprising," said Youssef Mukhtar, a 47-year-old engineer who was shouting along with the crowd. "Enough bloodshed and disasters. It is the 21st century, and people should be able to govern themselves. The situation has become unbearable and we have to regain our country."

Many held pictures of Hariri and sang patriotic songs as they passed through rows of troops on both sides of the route. Some protesters held a copy of the Quran in one hand and the cross in another hand to signify Muslim-Christian national unity.

Gun-toting policemen and army troops in full battle gear stood guard without intervening, blocking roads with metal barriers. In an apparent attempt to prevent more potential protesters from reaching Beirut, security forces set up checkpoints on the northern and eastern entrances to the Lebanese capital, causing delays and reducing morning traffic to a trickle.

The protest reached its peak at 12.55 pm (10.55am GMT), the time that Mr Hariri’s motorcade was blown up.

The protesters, chanting "All for the Nation," the national anthem, observed a moment of silence at the exact time of the bombing and then began converging on the UN offices in the centre of town to hand a letter addressed to Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General.

On the way, the protesters marched by the nearby Grand Serail, the prime minister’s office, shouting "Syria out!" and "We don’t want an army in Lebanon except that of Lebanon!"

Protesters also taunted a long motorcade of vehicles that left the Prime Ministry but made no attempt to break the heavy cordon of soldiers and policemen. It was not clear whether Prime Minister Omar Karami was in the motorcade.

The protesters then marched to Hariri’s grave outside the Mohammed Al-Amin Mosque at the central Martyrs’ Square and sang the national anthem. "We want the truth," said one speaker who addressed the crowd at the square, which has become a pilgrimage site for anti-Syrian activists.

At the same time the Beirut protest was making its way to the grave, about 500 Lebanese in Kuwait gathered near their country’s embassy, where they stood for a moment’s silence in front of a large poster of Hariri. They then sang the national anthem and called out "Freedom, sovereignty, independence!" and repeated anti-Syria slogans.

"What we want is an international committee to uncover the truth," said Marwan Jamal, a business consultant, 39. "Nobody should think we are divided."

Before Beirut’s demonstration, about 30 opposition lawmakers wearing the white and red scarves stood on the steps of the Parliament building in downtown Beirut to protest at an attempt by the legislature to hold a session to discuss law for elections set for April and May. The opposition has said it will refuse to participate in any parliamentary activity before a special session is held to discuss the assassination.

They met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who agreed to their demand and postponed the debate.

"It is shameful that the Parliament meets without debating this horrible act," said Nayla Mouawad, a legislator whose husband, President Rene Mouawad, was killed in a 1989 bomb blast.

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