BEIRUT, Feb 28 (AFP) - Lebanon's pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karameh tendered his government's resignation Monday in the face of massive public protests over the killing of his predecessor and political rival Rafiq Hariri. Following are some of the major developments in the political crisis that has gripped Lebanon since Hariri's murder two weeks ago.

Feb 14: Hariri, a five-time prime minister and billionaire businessman, is killed in a massive bomb blast on the Beirut seafront. Another 17 people are killed including seven of his bodyguards, and 220 wounded. - A previously unknown group called An-Nosra wal Jihad fi Bilad al-Sham (Victory and Jihad in Greater Syria) claimed responsibility for the assassination, saying it was to avenge Hariri's close ties with the Saudi regime. - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime is widely suspected of having a hand in the attack, was among the first to condemn it as an "odious crime aimed at striking Lebanese national unity and civil peace." - The Lebanese opposition meets at Hariri's Beirut home, blaming the government and its Syrian backers for the murder. It calls on the Lebanese regime to resign and for a full withdrawal of Syrian troops before legislative elections due to be held by the end of May. - The army goes on high alert and orders a full nationwide mobilisation of its forces to "safeguard stability" in Lebanon. - The opposition joins several world leaders in calling for a full international inquiry into the killing, a demand rejected by the government.

Feb 15: The Lebanese army is out in force across the capital while schools, businesses and banks are closed. - Hariri's family rejects a government offer of a state funeral, instead calling for a massive public turnout on the day of his burial Wednesday. - Washington recalls its ambassador in Syria for "urgent consultations" after voicing outrage over "this heinous act of terrorism," but stops short of blaming Syria. - The UN Security Council asks Secretary General Kofi Annan for an urgent report into the "terrorist" assassination of Hariri and again presses Syria to pull its forces out of the country.

Feb 16: Hariri is buried in Martyrs' Square in the heart of Beirut in a funeral that turns into a massive public protest against Syria as several hundred thousand people take to the streets. Parliament speaker Nabih Berri and some MPs attend the ceremony but no leading members of the Lebanese government, who had been told by the family to stay away. Foreign dignitaries at the funeral include Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam, a personal friend of Hariri, US Middle East envoy William Burns and EU envoy Marc Otte. - French President Jacques Chirac, a close personal friend, pays his condolences to the Hariri family and presses his demands that light be shed on the murder. - Lebanon decides to seek help from Swiss experts in its investigation.

Feb 17: Tens of thousands of people join a demonstration at the site of the attack chanting anti-Syria slogans. - Syrian workers come under attack by angry mourners in the east of Lebanon where leaflets calling on them to leave the country are distributed.

Feb 18: The opposition calls for an "uprising for independence" and demands a transitional government to ensure a Syrian troop pullout and supervise legislative elections. - Tourism minister Farid Khazen resigns amid growing calls for the resignation of the government.

Feb 20: The Lebanese government agrees to cooperate with a UN commission of inquiry - Pro-Syrian leaders appeal for national dialogue but this is rejected by the Lebanese opposition, with prominent Druze MP Walid Jumblatt instead calling for direct dialogue with Damascus

- Feb 21: More than 100,000 demonstrate in Beirut against Syria in an unprecedented protest against troops who first deployed in Lebanon a year after the start of the 1975-1990 civil war. - The opposition secures agreement for a parliamentary debate on Hariri's killing in which it plans to lodge a motion of no confidence in the government.

- Feb 22: The United States and the EU call for the immediate implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 which demands a withdrawal of all foreign troops and an end to foreign interference, without specifically mentioning Syria.

Feb 23: Karameh says he is ready to resign if an agreement is reached on a new government to avoid a "political vacuum."

Feb 24: Syria says it is ready to withdraw troops from Lebanon in line with a 1989 accord that paved the way for the end of the civil war. - Lebanese Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Mrad said Syrian troops would pull back to the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria "within hours." But there is no sign of a redeployment by the time of Karameh's resignation on Monday.

Feb 25: The UN team charged with looking into Hariri's murder begins its investigation on the ground.

Feb 27: US deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, David Satterfield, visiting Lebanon, presses international demands for a Syrian withdrawal - Demonstrators begin gathering in Beirut despite a Lebanese government ban on protests.

Feb 28: Tens of thousands of Lebanese mass in Martyrs' Square in a sea of red and white Lebanese flags, surrounded by soldiers and police. Banks, shops and schools are closed for a general strike. - At a stormy session of parliament, Karameh tenders his government's resignation.

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