Protests in Beirut that led to the revolution
The Cedar Revolution took place on 14 February-27 April 2005 in Lebanon when the Lebanese people decided to begin civil resistance and nonviolent protests to encourage the Syrian Arab Army to withdraw from its occupation during the Lebanese Civil War. The protests occurred after Prime Minister Rafic Hariri was assassinated, allegedly on the orders of Syria, and around a million protesters from the March 14 Alliance of anti-Syria parties took part in the demonstrations in Beirut. Despite the March 8 Alliance's attempts to put down the uprising, the protesters achieved their goals, with all 14,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon leaving on 27 April 2005 and free elections being held soon after. The revolution was an important moment in Lebanese history, showing that the people could stand up to military occupation without violence, and the country held democratic elections free of Syrian influence.