BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of assassinating Maj. Gen. Wissam Hasan, who was killed earlier in the day in a car bombing in the Lebanese capital.

“[The one] who assassinated Wissam Hasan is as clear as the light of day and I, Saad Rafik Hariri, vow not to remain silent over this crime,” Hariri told Future Television in a phone interview.

Asked to identify who he was accusing, Hariri said: "Bashar Hafez Assad."

Hariri described Hasan, 43, as a friend of his father and a “brother to the family.”

“Ever since the assassination of [former Prime Minister] Rafik Hariri, he worked day and night to uncover the truth behind the killing,” Hariri said.

Rafik Hariri was assassinated in 2005 in a massive car bombing attack in the Lebanese capital.

“This cowardly attack on Ashrafieh today is an attack on all of Lebanon and every Lebanese against the stability of our nation and people,” the Future Movement leader said.