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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. In total, 421 people gathered at two assembly points where they had to go to safety.
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At the time of their passage, they were 422. A woman went into labor, requiring an emergency caesarean 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
It was a nail … A bitter journey to cross one of the world's most hermetic borders. Until the last minute, those who were on the ground were unsure of the operation.
WATCH: The Israeli army publishes images showing the extraction of "White Helmets". from Syria
Another nearly 400 people had to be ripped off too. Most did not arrive on time at the assembly points, unable to cross roads that were rapidly closing on one side by advancing Syrian forces and on the other by Islamic State militants. expanding
. According to a person close to the operation who agreed to discuss the details under the guise of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, […] "It was an operation" I salute you Mary ", said with the evacuation. "The only safe place was their evacuation" in Jordan.
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The operation was designed by Britain, Germany and Canada and supported by Israel, Jordan, the United States United States and the UN. The rescue of besieged White Helmets was not without controversy.
He raised questions about the fate of 3,000 more White Helmets still operating in the country. The Syrian government denounced the evacuation as a "criminal process" that "smuggled terrorists" to whom it accused of having undermined Syria. the country's security for years. An official of the Syrian Foreign Ministry reiterated his government's accusations that white helmets had organized and executed chemical attacks to blame Damascus.
The White Helmets is a volunteer organization that, since 2013, has a mission to save survivors. areas held in reserve, that it is to dig them up under the rubble of bombed buildings or to shoot victims of chemical attacks of the site. He received support and funding from the West and his work earned him a Nobel Prize nomination. The government waged a virulent campaign portraying them as agents and terrorists because its volunteers helped document the atrocities committed by government forces and their allies
In five years of operations, more than 3,000 volunteers have saved more than 115,000 lives. The cost for the group was high, and one in four volunteers was injured or killed
The plan was designed in Europe and Canada about two weeks ago.
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The Syrian government's offensive in the Southwest, supported by Russia, was held in mid-June. Although he condemned the aggression, Washington, which, along with Jordan, had supported armed groups in the region and sponsored the White Helmets, said it would not help stop the advances.
In early July, government forces began negotiating groups and civilians in villages and towns that were rapidly collapsing under assault. The negotiations allowed those who refused to live under government control – armed fighters, civilians or activists – 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 White Helmets volunteers were specifically targeted, ripped off buses, tortured and filmed while making false confessions about the fact. Be 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 model of behavior, "he said, and Canada before the NATO summit on July 9. At the summit, there were meetings between leaders on the question
WATCH: White Helmets and Their Families Saved from Syria
Quickly Evacuating by Jordan It became impossible as government forces progressed, taking over a border crossing rebels and then deployed along the border, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to allow them to cross Israel after a call from US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
. were in the midst of a changing battleground was a challenge.Aware of not raising expectations, the planners only asked the volunteers if they would accept an evacuation opportunity by I
Some have 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 should be secondary to saving what needs to be saved," the source said.
There was an unexpected twist: the advances of an affiliate of the Islamic State group. As rebel forces retreated to many villages between Daraa and Quneitra provinces, it was the ISI affiliate – not the government forces – who had moved there.
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This again changed the landscape, blocking some evacuation routes to evacuation points [19659008]. "In our mind, there was no guarantee that this evacuation will occur before that happens," the source said.
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.
A woman of a volunteer went into work 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 walked on foot and were greeted on the other side by Israeli soldiers who verified their identity. buses at one of the two crossings in Jordan.
"The rescuers were saved," the source said.
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Germany, Canada and Britain said that they would resettle the White Helmets and their families within three months. The United States and Jordan will not take any.
Planners are always in contact 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 the remaining hundreds of thousands 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 Christofer Burger
. He said: "The factors that allowed in this case to help people facing acute threat, a very specific group, can not be repro oduced at will."
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