White helmets trapped in Syria: 300 rescuers can not go out



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"We are 300 volunteer members and we call on the countries of the United Kingdom, Canada, Jordan, and America to continue their efforts to evacuate the remaining members of the White Helmets," said the rescue volunteer Abu Muhanad. , told CNN Sunday. Abu Muhanad said that the remaining volunteers and their families were unable to reach the evacuation point in southern Syria because the roads were blocked because of fighting between Syrian forces and the Syrian forces. affiliate of EI, Khalid. ibn al-Walid. These fights have intensified in recent days as Syria tries to eradicate the last pockets of ISIS in the south of the country.

The Syrians evacuated on 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 "maintains a policy of non-intervention regarding the Syrian conflict."

A number of evacuees belonged to the White Helmets Volunteer Rescue Group, known as The Syrians Transferred, will remain in a Forbidden Zone in Jordan, said Jordanian Ministry Spokesperson Foreign Minister, Mohammad al-Kayed, at the Jordanian official Petra news agency, before moving to Germany. Jordan had initially declared that 800 Syrians had been evacuated and that the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, had tweeted Sunday that the initial agreement was for 800 but that later on they would go on to leave the country. would establish at 422.

"For humanitarian reasons, Jordan gave the UN permission to arrange the passage of Syrians who entered the occupied Golan after Britain, the Germany and Canada have made a legally binding commitment to resettle after three months, "Safadi tweeted Sunday. "The requested number was 800 but the actual number is set at 422," he added.

The White Helmets Still in Danger

"We are still in danger," Abu Muhanad told CNN. "Saving lives is the biggest crime of which we are accused, now we are called terrorists because we save lives."

He says that they are between a rock and a hard place: considered as "terrorists" by the regime, they have no exchange currency, unlike the rebels, who have their weapons. Moreover, now that Israel has helped in the evacuation, they are accused of being "collaborators of Israel".

Through videos, images, and social media, White Helmets are widely seen as having played an important role in bringing the horrors of the Syrian civil war to the international community. Their volunteers went to war-torn areas in search of survivors, supporting many countries, including the United States

The White Helmets "who saw death saving lives from their attacks. And now we see death in a different way – not knowing what will happen to us, "added the volunteer.

Oren Liebermann and Sheena McKenzie of CNN contributed to this report.

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