Ban Contacts Miqati, Expresses 'Solidarity' with Lebanese People

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon contacted on Saturday Prime Minister Najib Miqati to express his “solidarity with the Lebanese people” after the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan.

Ban "expressed strong solidarity with the people of Lebanon and commended the prime minister, the government and the president (Michel Suleiman) for their handling of the matter," the U.N. statement said.

Hasan killed in a massive car bomb on Friday along with three other people, had himself returned to Lebanon the previous day.

He will be laid to rest on Sunday in the mausoleum of his mentor Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005.

Under Hasan, the ISF played a central role in the August arrest of Lebanon's former information minister Michel Samaha, who has close links to Damascus. He was charged with planning attacks to spark sectarian strife in Lebanon.

The agency was also deeply involved in seeking the arrest of those responsible for a host of attacks and assassinations between 2005 and 2008, starting with the Hariri assassination, for which Hasan blamed Damascus.

In October 2010, the Syrian courts issued arrest warrants against 33 Lebanese figures, including General Hasan, for perjury in the case of the Hariri assassination.