The ultimatum expires today. The condition is that the Damascus army withdraw from the area of Ghuta, in the east of the city. For Iran the hostages are all Shiite pilgrims. For the rebels they are Pasdaran troops and military advisers to Assad. Tensions and frustrations point to possible war. Yesterday Ankara troops fired over the border with Syria.

Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Syrian rebels say they will kill dozens of Iranians who they kidnapped in August, if Assad's army fails to withdraw from Ghuta, the area east of the province of Damascus. The Revolutionary Military Council - with a video message released on the internet (see photo) - gave a 48 hour deadline, which expires today.

On 5 August, the rebels kidnapped 48 Iranians accusing them of being the Pasdaran military advisers to the Syrian regime. Tehran has appealed for the lives of hostages, saying that they are all pilgrims - among them women and children - who travelled to Syria to visit the shrine of Shiite Sayyida Zeinab. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that there are former retired Revolutionary Guards among them, but denied that they were on a foreign mission.

The rebels threaten that when the ultimatum expires they will "kill every Iranian prisoner for every martyr that falls."

This is the second time since August that the rebels have launched a similar threat. Analysts and observers highlight the rebels' frustration, who have always hoped for assistance from allied countries to oust Bashar al-Assad. But the international community still appears to be divided. Some, such as Russia, China and Iran, support the Damascus regime, others like the European Union, the United States, and especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar, support the rebels.

The situation is very tense with all sides waiting for the first wrong step that could spark all-out war.

In recent days the growing tension on the Turkish-Syrian has increased this risk, after a mortar fired by the Damascus army hit a Turkish village on the border, killing a family of five. The parliament in Ankara has instructed the army to attack Syrian targets beyond the borders.

According to news agency Anadolu, the Turkish army has deployed soldiers and artillery on the border with Syria and yesterday returned fire after a mortar hit a Syrian area near the village of Guyecci (Hatay), with no casualties. The Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated that Ankara does not want to go to war with Syria. In many cities, Turkish civil society organizations and opposition parties have organized demonstrations against a possible war in the Middle East.

 

• syria
• iran
• rebels
• hostages
• turkey
• crisis
• war