In pictures: Assad's funeral

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians turned out to wish their late President Hafez al-Assad farewell.

The coffin was paraded through the capital, Damascus, before being carried to the remote mountain village of his birth for burial.

The coffin was carried by pallbearers and followed by a modest group of mourners, including Bashar al-Assad

The heir apparent received the acclaim of the crowds

Correspondents say some events in Damascus were orchestrated, but the grief of many was genuine and heartfelt

A meeting between Basher and Yasser Arafat was unexpectedly warm

Local women in the president's home village, Qardaha, wept as he returned for the last time

The centre of the tiny village was packed as the coffin was borne through the streets

A mourner with self-inflicted wounds expressed his grief as the coffin arrived at Qardaha mosque

A Druze mourner, unable to leave the occupied Golan Heights, set up his own shrine

Finally, President Assad was laid to rest beside his son's grave in the family mausoleum