Syria rebels say will release Lebanese hostages in “new civil state”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian rebels holding 11 Lebanese Shi'ite pilgrims hostage said they would release the men when their country had established a new "civil state" but left room for negotiations, a video obtained by Al Jazeera television showed. The hostages said in the video they were in good health and being treated well, Reuters reported.

"The guests will be released by the Syrian civil state when their case is reviewed by a new democratic parliament," the rebels said in a written statement on the video. "But given the current conditions it may be possible to negotiate their release with neighboring countries."

A 15-month-old uprising against four decades of Assad family rule has grown increasingly bloody as rebels bring the fight to President Bashar al-Assad's security forces trying to crack down on the rebellion.

Rebels have previously kidnapped men from Syria's Shi'ite ally Iran, who said they were pilgrims but who rebels said were fighting with Assad's forces. The men were later released.

The Lebanese hostages were on a bus that was stopped by gunmen as it crossed into northern Syria from Turkey on its way home from a pilgrimage to Iran. The gunmen released the women and kept the men.