Syrian soldiers have withdrawn from Lebanon after a deployment of 29 years. Approximately 200 Syrian soldiers assembled on Tuesday morning in the Bekaa Valley for a farewell parade.
Soldiers received medals and shouted slogans in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, before marching off while a Lebanese military band played.
Syrian troops were sent into Lebanon in 1976 during the civil war. Pressure for them to leave grew after the killing of former PM Rafik Hariri in February.
Damascus has denied any role in the death of Hariri who was killed by a car bomb in Beirut but the event prompted giant protests calling for the Syrians to go.
BBC Beirut correspondent Kim Ghattas says the Syrians stayed on long after Lebanon's civil war ended and Damascus effectively became the political master of its tiny neighbour.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said "a new political era in the relations between the two brethren countries" had started with the completion of the troop withdrawal.
Pierre Gemayel, a Christian Maronite opposition MP, said: "We consider this a first step towards regaining Lebanon's full and real sovereignty."
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