Lebanon's former Intelligence Chief Col. Johnny Abdo accused Wednesday the Lebanese and Syrian intelligence agencies of assassinating  former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, asserting that  President Assad was aware of the murder beforehand.

Abdo, who served as Lebanese ambassador to Paris before his retirement, was the director of the army's  military intelligence during the  the reign of the late President Elias Sarkis (1976-1982).

The declaration by Abdo was made in an interview conducted by Ali Hamadeh over Hariri's Al Mustaqbal TV station.

In the interview, which was extensively covered by Lebanon's media, Abdo accused   Brigadier General Mustafa Hamadan, Commander of Lahoud's Republican Guards, of setting up a unit that shadowed Hariri before his assassination, and has later  removed vital evidence from the assassination scene, including cars wrecked by the one-ton bomb blast. He also attempted to clean up the location, Abdo said. All this suggested that that there were assassins doing the job and others doing the cover up," Abdo added.

Asked by interviewer Ali Hamadeh whether he believed that Syrian President Bashar Assad was aware that these intelligence services have assassinated Hariri, Abdo said "yes."

The former official said he and others had warned the late Hariri of the danger that followed him "but American and French assurances led him to disbelieve it." Abdo said "there was widespread belief that if Hariri had run for election, he would win and, together with the opposition, would form a government."

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