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‘White Helmets’ Rescuers Evacuated As Assad Nears Total Victory In South Syria

Israeli Army Handout via REUTERS

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Will Racke Immigration and Foreign Policy Reporter
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An international operation to evacuate hundreds of Syrian rescue workers and their families concluded Sunday night, as Syrian government forces were on the cusp of regaining control of all rebel-held areas in the country’s southwestern provinces.

Supported by the U.S. and several European countries, Israel and Jordan accepted more than 400 members of the Syria Civil Defense — better known as the White Helmets — who had been trapped with other civilians in a slice of rebel territory along the Syria-Israel border.

The operation was carried out due to an “immediate threat” to the rescuers’ lives, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement, adding that the evacuees had “passed through” Israel and were out of harm’s way.

In neighboring Jordan, the government later said 422 Syrian citizens had crossed its border and would be resettled as refugees in Western countries, the Washington Post reported.

“We deeply appreciate Israel’s role in facilitating the transit of the White Helmets and their family members,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said. “We commend Jordan’s generosity in supporting their processing by UNHCR and the commitment of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany to provide the White Helmets and their families with permanent homes.”

The evacuation operation comes as Syrian government forces — backed by Russian troops — are poised for total victory in Syria’s southwest, where the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad began seven years ago. Under a surrender deal, remaining rebel fighters who reject reconciliation with the government are being bused to opposition-held areas in northern Syria, while those who lay down their arms will be allowed to remain in place. (RELATED: Assad Retakes City Where Syrian Uprising Was Born Seven Years Ago)

Even with the deal in place, the White Helmets feared retaliation from regime forces if they stayed in the country. The Syrian government views the group as a “terrorist” organization because it operates in areas under armed resistance, and several of the group’s members have been tortured and killed in regime prisons.

The last of the rescue workers crossed the Syria-Israel border on foot late Sunday night, according to local media reports. They were then bused through northern Israel to the Jordanian border, where they were met by representatives from the United Nations refugee agency.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he had been asked by President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau to facilitate the evacuation of White Helmet workers in “mortal danger.”

“These people who saved lives were now under life-threatening danger,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, according to Haaretz. “I therefore authorized for them to be transferred through Israel to other countries as an important humanitarian measure.”

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