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Beirut (AFP) – Several hundred Syrian rescuers remained trapped in the south of the country without escaping from the regime's troops, two of them said on Monday that a Secret evacuation had saved many of their colleagues. 400 people – opposition-linked White Helmets and their families – are fleeing from a pocket in southwestern Syria as government forces attack them.
They will then be transported to Jordan and resettled in Western countries. Great Britain, Germany and Canada.
"It was the only alternative for our trapped volunteers who would have been faced with the detention or death of the Syrian regime and its ally Russia," said the group on Monday
. Ninety-eight male and female white helmet volunteers managed to escape to Jordan with 324 members of their families, according to a statement
but a similar number remains trapped in the south of Syria.
"said César, a 23-year-old white helmet employee in the southern city of Daraa.
He estimated that 400 other rescuers were still in the Daraa provinces on the Jordanian border. Quneitra, near the adjoining Golan-annexed Golan Heights
Cesar said he learned about the operation a few days ago "by chance", but when he contacted the White Helmets leaders, they told him that it was too late for
– "Made things worse" –
"They have set another meeting for today on the subject, but we have discovered not long ago that the efforts have failed.The fact that some members of the White Helmets have left and some are stayed did us more harm than it helped us, "he told AFP on Monday.
"The evacuation of Israel yesterday made things worse, we are afraid of the regime and Russia's reactions."
Syrian forces supported by Russia have been beating the south for more than a month in order to bring it back under the control of the government.
and the Civil Defense Centers, pushing hundreds of thousands to flee to the Jordanian and Israeli borders, which remained sealed.
The Foreign Ministry in Damascus slammed the evacuation on Monday, calling it a "criminal operation" and repeating its accusation. Helmets were a front for "terrorists".
Moscow stated that it was "symbolic that the White Helmets preferred to flee Syria thanks to foreign support, thus revealing their true nature".
The 422 evacuees will be allowed to stay In Jordan, for three months, before being relocated, Amman said:
On Monday, White Helmets called on the international community to help those who remained in the south of Syria.
"We thank all governments. They have contributed to the success of this operation in rescuing rescuers and we are asking them to do more to help the hundreds of thousands of people remaining in southern Syria," they said.
– "We are surrounded" –
Chief Raed Saleh stated that not all workers were evacuated because some had not signed to do so, while "some volunteers were not able to reach the evacuation point. "
He said that there was no project. 19659023]" They ripped off the Others but can not get us out, "asked Imad, a 20-year-old rescuer, originally from a rebel village in Quneitra
" We are surrounded, "he said. a meeting of White Helmets officials in Jordan was held Monday to discuss the fate of the remaining rescuers.
After the meeting, members of the White Helmets still in Syria were informed that their only option was to be transported to the north. controlled territory under an assignment agreement.
Last week, the rebels of Quneitra were in agreement with Russ. abandoning their remaining territory in the province in exchange for the end of the bombings and the safe passage to other rebel-held territories.
The terms are similar to previous agreements that submitted parts of Syria under the control of the government. But Imad told AFP that he feared reprisals
"We are a burnt card when it comes to the Syrian army – there will be no The one who has laid hands on the regime is lost, and no one knows what ends up happening to them. "
Founded in 2013, the Syrian Civil Defense Ministry, or White Helmets, works to rescue the wounded by rebel attacks.
The group receives funding from a number of Western governments and individual donors.
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