Syria denounces White Helmet rescue as 'criminal operation'

Canada's role in the White Helmets rescue effort

6 years ago

Duration 4:09

Canada played a role in the international effort to rescue White Helmet volunteers from Syria. CBC's Murray Brewster reports.

The Syrian government on Mondaycondemned the evacuation of hundreds of Syrian White Helmetrescue workers and their families with the help of Israelisoldiers, calling it a "criminal operation" undertaken by"Israel and its tools."

The rescue workers and their families crossed out of Syriainto the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights before arriving inJordan over the weekend, fleeing an offensive by Syria and itsRussian ally to take control of southwest Syria from rebels.

Canada, Britain andGermany will take in nearly ahundredvolunteer emergency workers and their families within the next three months, a Jordanian government source said.

Israel said it had helped with the evacuation at the requestof U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders. There hadbeen fears the rescue workers' lives were at risk.

The Syrian government has accused the White Helmets, alsoknown as Syria Civil Defence, of being a Western-sponsoredterrorist organization. President Bashar al-Assad has called theWhite Helmets part of al-Qaeda in Syria.

The White Helmets were established as a rescue service inrebel-held areas of the country, where the organization's volunteers have oftenworked to save people trapped under the rubble of governmentbombardment.

Syrian state news agency SANA, citing a foreign ministryofficial, said the evacuation "exposed the true nature of theorganization known as the White Helmets," calling it a risk tostability and security "because of its terrorist nature."

4 killed, dozens injured

The group said its people and buildings have beenspecifically targeted by the Syrian government and its alliesthroughout the more than seven-year-old war.

In a statement on Monday the group said during the southwestcampaign four of its volunteers were killed and dozens injured,four White Helmet centres were hit and rescue vehicles were destroyed by Syrian government bombardment.

White Helmets: How they became targets

6 years ago

Duration 3:30

The White Helmets made enemies by thwarting Bashar al-Assad's regime. CBC's Susan Ormiston takes a deeper look at how the rescue workers became targets.

"Since our formation, 251 volunteers have been killed in theline of duty, the majority from 'double-tap strikes,'" the group
said.

The White Helmets said 98 male and female volunteers and 324family members were now in Jordan, having travelled through theoccupied Golan Heights.

As Assad has won back areas such as eastern Aleppo andGhouta, the rescue workers have left on buses to rebel-heldareas of the north as part of agreed surrender deals, along withfighters and civilians who fear a return of government rule.

In the southwestern campaign, however, the White Helmetssaid the deals agreed "did not include any guarantees of safepassage for displaced humanitarian workers to other areas ofSyria,"making the international evacuation necessary.

"It was the only alternative for our trapped volunteers, whowould otherwise have faced detention or death at the hands ofthe Syrian regime and its ally Russia," it said.

Anon-Jordanian source said the original plan hadbeen to evacuate 800 people, but only 422 made it out asoperations were hampered by government checkpoints and theexpansion of Islamic State in the area.