Thousands of mourners participated in Sunday's funeral of slain Major General Wissam al-Hasan, chief of the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau, who was killed by a powerful car bombing on Friday blamed on the Damascus regime.

Anti-Syria opposition chief ex-premier Saad Hariri had called for a huge turnout for the funeral of the fallen general and thousands of people took part in the ceremony outside the Mohammed al-Amine Mosque in Beirut's Martyrs Square.

Intensive contacts were held overnight Friday-Saturday between Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and his ministers, during which Jumblat rejected Miqati's suggestion that he would submit his resignation, official sources said.

“Jumblat rejected Miqati's resignation out of fear of a governmental vacuum and the inability of any caretaker cabinet to control security should the situations deteriorate,” sources close to the premiership told the pan-Arab al-Hayat newspaper in remarks published Sunday.

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.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher denounced on Saturday the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan, calling on the Lebanese to unite.

“The attack is against the Lebanese state and its people and all those who love Lebanon... We will cooperate with the Lebanese authorities in the upcoming days to encourage unity, stability and sovereignty,” Fletcher said after holding talks with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace.

French President Francois Hollande urged on Saturday his Lebanese counterpart President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati to avoid any political vacuum in the country and for the cabinet to continue its tasks.

“It's very important that Lebanon doesn't fall in a political vacuum... The cabinet must carry on with its tasks,” Hollande said in a letter conveyed to Suleiman by French Ambassador to Lebanon Patrice Paoli.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea demanded on Saturday the suspension of all the agreements with Syria, the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali and the immediate resignation of the cabinet.

“They assassinated (ISF Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam) al-Hasan to prevent the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon from revealing the truth,” Geagea said in a news conference at his Maarab residence.

Phalange Party MP Sami Gemayel considered on Saturday that Lebanon entered an open confrontation with the Syrian regime.

“We tried to disassociate our nation from the conflict in Syria, but the regime is challenging the Lebanese people once again by assassinating (ISF Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam) al-Hasan,” Gemayel said.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri called on Saturday on the Lebanese to attend the funeral of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan en mass.

He stressed that the roads shouldn't be blocked to allow everyone to reach the Martyrs Square in downtown Beirut.

Saudi Arabia condemned on Saturday the "terrorist" car bombing that killed Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan, and warned of chaos if the culprits were not caught.

The kingdom "condemns this criminal act," a Saudi official said in a statement carried by the SPA state news agency.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati revealed on Saturday that he has taken the decision to “no longer hang on to the premiership,” urging the formation of a national unity government.

He said: “I suspended my decision to resign at President Michel Suleiman's request.”