White Helmets trapped in Syria: 300 rescue workers can’t get out

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“We are 300 volunteer members and calling upon the countries of UK, Canada, Jordan, America to continue their efforts in evacuating the remaining members of the White Helmets,” the rescue volunteer, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Muhanad, told CNN on Sunday. “Help us and save our lives.”

Abu Muhanad said the remaining volunteers and their families were unable to reach the evacuation point in southern Syria because roads were blocked as a result of fighting in the area between Syrian forces and ISIS affiliate Khalid ibn al-Walid. That fighting has intensified in recent days as Syria tries to eradicate the last remaining ISIS pockets in the southern part of the country.

The Syrians evacuated Sunday were transferred to Jordan via Israel, at the request of the United States and some European countries, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement after the operation. Israel described the move as an “exceptional humanitarian gesture,” adding that it “continues to maintain a non-intervention policy regarding the Syrian conflict.”

A number of those evacuated were from the White Helmets volunteer rescue group, known as the Syrian Civil Defense.

The transferred Syrians will remain in a restricted area in Jordan for the time being, Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Mohammad al-Kayed told the Jordanian state-run Petra news agency, before onward transfer to Britain, Germany and Canada within the next three months.

Jordan had originally said 800 Syrians were evacuated and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi tweeted on Sunday that the original agreement was for 800 but that they later settled at 422.

“For humanitarian reasons, Jordan gave the United Nations permission to organize the passage of Syrians who entered the Occupied Golan after Britain, Germany and Canada presented a legally binding pledge to resettle them after three months,” Safadi tweeted Sunday. “The number requested was 800 but the actual number settled at 422,” he added.

Remaining White Helmets in danger

“We are still in danger,” Abu Muhanad told CNN. “Saving lives is the biggest crime we are charged with; now we are called terrorists because we save lives.”

He says they are between a rock and a hard place: considered “terrorists” by the regime, they don’t have any bargaining chips, unlike the rebels, who have their weapons. Moreover, now that Israel has helped the evacuation, they face a new charge of being “collaborators with Israel.”

Through videos, pictures, and social media, the White Helmets are widely seen as having played an important role in showing the international community the horrors of the Syrian civil war. Their volunteers have gone into war-stricken areas, searching for survivors, winning them support from many countries, including the United States.

The White Helmets “used to see death while doing our work saving lives from underneath airstrikes and barrel bombs. Now we see death in a different way — not knowing what will happen to us,” the volunteer added.

CNN’s Oren Liebermann and Sheena McKenzie contributed to this report.



Source : Nbcnewyork