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BEIRUT (AP) – The call arrived Saturday night. In the war zone raging in south-west Syria, with the enemy forces on the move, volunteers from the 98 White Helmets brought their spouses, children and a personal bag each. A total of 421 people gathered at two assembly points where they had to take the step towards freedom.
By the time they crossed, they were 422. A woman went into labor and gave birth by an emergency cesarean section. His son, Nairouz, was born in an open field in the dark of the night just before the border with the Golan Heights occupied by Israel.
It was just a moment of drama in a complicated international rescue operation to extract the Syrian volunteer rescuers who work in the opposition areas by the fierce enemy of their country Israel by bus to a reluctant refuge in Jordan.
It was a sharp trip into a conflict being crossed at one of the world's most hermetic borders. . Until the last minute, people on the ground were not sure whether the operation was going to unfold. Until the last minute, people on the ground were not sure whether the operation was going to unfold.
Another of nearly 400 people was also to be removed. Most did not arrive in time at the assembly points, unable to quickly cross the roads by advancing Syrian forces from one side and to expand the Islamic State 's militants. other.
In all, it took about six hours to evacuate, according to a person close to the operation who agreed to discuss details under condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the problem.
The operation was designed by Britain, Germany and Canada, supported by Israel, Jordan, the United States and the UN It took a level of This is what international actors have rarely demonstrated during the eight-year war in Syria between the world powers against each other
.
He raised questions about the fate of 3,000 other first responders in the group still operating in northern Syria, living with more than one million other displaced civilians in Iraq. In addition, the Syrian government has denounced the evacuation as a "criminal process" that "smuggled terrorists" to whom it has accused of having undermined the country's security for years. An official of the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated his government's accusations that white helmets had organized and executed chemical attacks to blame them in Damascus.
The White Helmets Group is a volunteer organization that since 2013 has rescued survivors. war dead in areas held by the opposition, either to dig them up in the rubble of bombed buildings or to shoot the victims of chemical attacks on the site. He has been supported by the West since its inception and his work earned him a Nobel Prize nomination. It also earned them hatred for the government because its volunteers helped document the atrocities committed by government forces and their allies – including chemical attacks.
In five years of operations, more than 3,000 volunteers have saved more than 115,000 lives. The cost for the group was high, with one in four injured or killed.
"It was a" Hail Mary "operation, said the person who knew the evacuation. "The only safe place was their evacuation" in Jordan
The plan was designed in Europe and Canada about two weeks ago
The Syrian government's offensive in south-west Syria, supported by Russia, was held in mid-June. . Although he condemned the attack, Washington, which, along with Jordan, had supported armed groups in the region and sponsored the White Helmets, reported that it would not help stop the advances
. groups and civilians in villages and towns that were rapidly collapsing under assault. Negotiations have allowed those who refuse to live under government control – armed fighters, civilians or militants – to evacuate to the north.
With the exception of White Helmets, said the person close to the planning. According to sources, the White Helmets were a "red line" that should be "eradicated", according to the source.
This threat was particularly acute, he said, as nearly a dozen cases were documented during previous evacuations. White Helmets volunteers being specifically targeted, removed from buses, tortured and filmed by making false confessions about being paid agents. They were even filmed with weapons to support the government's narrative that they are working closely with armed groups.
"It was a pattern of behavior," he said. and Canada before the NATO summit on July 9th. At the summit, there were leaders meetings on the issue. Evacuating them quickly across Jordan quickly became impossible as government forces progressed, taking over a vital rebel border post and deploying rapidly along the border. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to allow them to cross Israel after an appeal by US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
. Finding where the volunteers were on the rapidly changing battlefield was a challenge. Conscious of not raising expectations, the planners only asked the volunteers if they would accept an evacuation opportunity by Israel.
Some declined, said the source, fearing that they have no guarantee of where they would end. The leadership of the White Helmets has been unanimous to accept, despite the likelihood that the government will point to the Israeli way in the propaganda against them.
"The political ramification was to be secondary to saving what must be saved," the source said.
There was an unexpected twist: the progress of affiliates of the Islamic State group. As rebel forces retreated to many villages between Daraa and Quneitra provinces, it was the IS affiliate – not the government forces – that moved in.
This further changed the landscape, blocking some evacuation routes to the evacuation points. A civil defense volunteer said before Saturday night that many of his colleagues were locked up in areas occupied by the government and militants
"In our minds, there was no guarantee that this evacuation happen". says
The small window closed quickly. On the night of July 21, the call arrived
The evacuees gathered at two places at the north end of the border.
There was still a problem
. the call was issued. "We were worried that she was not doing it," the source said.
An emergency caesarean section was performed on the Syrian side in a field near the border. "In a few hours, she was evacuated on the other side with a healthy little boy" – Nairouz
The evacuees crossed on foot and were greeted on the other side by Israeli soldiers who verified their identity. "The rescuers have been rescued," the source said.
Germany, Canada and Britain declared that they were going to resettle White Helmets and their families within three months. The United States and Jordan will not take any.
Planners are always in touch with volunteers who do not notice them, advising them on what to do and where to be safe.
It is not known if similar operation can be reproduced. As for the hundred or so other volunteers in northern Syria, the source said the geography and landscape are different, with Turkish forces present in the region and many more options than the south. west, with borders closed on all sides. At night, the White Helmets thanked "all the governments that contributed" to the evacuation and asked the international community – if it does not stop the Syrian offensives – to do more to help hundreds of thousands remaining in southern Syria. It is unlikely that international actors will come together to make this happen again.
"Many factors and partners had to interact properly," said German Foreign Ministry spokesman Chrisofer Burger
. He added that "the factors that allowed in this case to help people facing acute threat, a very specific group, can not be reproduced at will." 19659043]
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