"I think this is the last statement I might give," Kanaan told Voice of Lebanon, hours before committing suicide. (Reuters)

DAMASCUS, October 12, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan committed suicide in his Damascus office Wednesday, October 12, shortly after denying reports in Lebanese media about his involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Premiere Rafiq Hariri.

"General Ghazi Kanaan, minister of the interior, committed suicide this morning in his office in Damascus," state news agency SANA said.

"The relevant authorities are investigating," SANA added.

Kanaan, a former military intelligence chief for Lebanon, killed himself after a UN team investigating the assassination in Beirut of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri interviewed him and a number of Syrian figures in connection with the case last month.

It also comes just two weeks before the UN commission of inquiry into the Hariri assassination is due to release a report on its findings.

Four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals have been arrested and charged in connection with Hariri's murder.

The tragic news also came out only hours after Kanaan had spoken to a Lebanese radio station, denying reports that he showed the UN investigators checks paid to him by the late Hariri.

He told Voice of Lebanon he hoped "everyone would remember how Syria helped Lebanon liberate and unite at a time it seemed impossible to be done".

He also urged some Lebanese media people – accusing Syria and himself of being behind Hariri killing and other bombings in Lebanon – of being "accurate and honest" on their reporting.

"My testimony (to the UN commission) ... was to shed the light on an era during which we have served Lebanon. Sadly some media outlets have reported lies to mislead public opinion," he told Voice of Lebanon.

"I want to make clear that our relation with our brothers in Lebanon was based on love and mutual respect ... We have served Lebanon's interest with honor and honesty."

"I think this is the last statement I might give," Kanaan said at the end of the phone interview, according to Reuters.

According to the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, Kanaan's two younger sons attended George Washington University in Washington DC, reportedly with their expenses fully paid by the late Hariri.

Observers and analysts talking to the Doha-based all-news Al-Jazeera TV that the timing of Kanaan's suicide was likely to stir suspicions, especially the report of the UN probe into the Hariri assassination was expected in a few days.

Lebanese anti-Syria MP Michel Aoun told Al-Jazeera he was not sure Kanaan was "assassinated or committed suicide", arguing Kanaan's death would lead to "many files being buried for good", but did not elaborate.

Syria and its allies in Lebanon have been widely blamed as being behind the Hariri murder, something Damascus has strongly denied.

On July 20, Kanaan was quoted in the Beirut daily As-Safir as saying he had no information on the murder, stressing that military intelligence was only in charge of security for Syrian troops and coordination with Lebanese authorities.

But Kanaan was seen for two decades as the paramount commander to whom Lebanese leaders reported directly on political and security issues.

Named interior minister in October 2004, he served between 1982 and 2003 as Syrian military intelligence chief for Lebanon.

In June, the US government froze Kanaan's assets for his alleged involvement in " corruption and support for terrorism ".

A member of Syria's Alawite minority and of its ruling Baath party, Kanaan was born in 1942 in the governorate of Lattakia. He graduated from military school in 1965. He was married, with four sons and two daughters, according to Reuters.