Jubilant protesters crowded downtown Beirut Tuesday, waving flags, honking horns and singing in celebration of the ouster of Lebanon's pro-Syrian government.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders called on Lebanese to continue their "independence uprising" with nightly peaceful protests at Martyr's Square, while they begin their search to replace Prime Minister Omar Karami.

Karami and his pro-Syrian government resigned Monday in the wake of unrest sparked by the assassination of Rafik Hariri -- a popular former prime minister who's been credited with rebuilding Beirut after years of civil war.

Opposition leaders blame Lebanon's government and Syria for Hariri's killing, but both governments have denied involvement.

The Associated Press reports that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are trying to persuade Syria to accept a timetable for a complete withdrawal of its 15,000 troops from Lebanon by April, said Arab diplomats on condition of anonymity.

A withdrawal is a key demand of the Lebanese opposition, the United Nations and the United States.

Damascus has spoken of moving its troops closer to the Syrian border instead of a full withdrawal.

But Syrian President Bashar Assad is quoted in Time Magazine's next edition saying that he would withdraw his troops completely, "maybe in the next few months. Not after that.''

Syrian officials were not immediately available to confirm Assad's remarks.

Analysts say Syria simply cannot ignore the international calls to act.

"For better or for worse, Syria has to realize we are in a new phase," Jamil Mroue of the Beirut Daily Star told CTV News. "Let that phase be creative, be productive and mutually beneficial."

In London, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier renewed calls for Syrian troops and intelligence agents to leave Lebanon.

"The Lebanese people are starting to express their aspirations for democracy... This is something that we support very much," said Rice.

Barnier said: "The Lebanese people have very courageously expressed their aspiration for freedom, their aspiration for a sovereign Lebanon. The Lebanese want to be masters of their own state."

Rice said Damascus must implement last year's UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which demands a complete and immediate pullout.

"The Syrians are out of step with where the region is going," she said.

About 2,000 protesters were in Martyrs' Square Tuesday evening -- far fewer than the 25,000 who demanded, and won, the resignation of Karami. But they are determined to keep their voices heard.

Sami Makhlouf, an 18-year-old protester, told the Associated Press:

"We will continue the sit-in every day until the Syrian army leaves Lebanon and until the truth is determined in Hariri's assassination.''

With files from CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer and the Associated Press