Hollywood star and rights advocate George Clooney has led thousands of Armenians on a march to a hilltop memorial in Yerevan to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the World War I-era massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
Clooney, who is an advocate of international recognition of the massacre as a genocide, laid flowers before the eternal flame at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial on April 24 along with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed during World War I as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, a claim supported by many other countries.
Turkey rejects the genocide label, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.
WATCH: Thousands of Armenians march in Yerevan on April 23.
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Armenians March In Torch-Lit Vigil