White Helmets
- Thread starter Aeneas
- Start date
I would venture to say that this is the reality for many now, and that it’s the inverse – that what we have now is a caricature of the book. It did seem like it was after 9/11 that the word “Orwellian” was being used more and more to describe the every growing insanity that was being fostered on the world, or at least that of the west. At first it was like "oh yea, I guess that is kinda like that" but then fast forwarding to today almost every aspect surrounding politics and social control has elements (if not exactly) of what Orwell describes in his book, with each new example of some aspect in the book being that much worse in actuality. The two examples above are just a drop in the bucket of how many other things are reflective of this dystopian world he puts you in. The resemblance is uncanny and I’m continually amazed at how close it hits the mark when comparing Oceania and the US.
The party slogan, says it all:
“War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”
One helluva mind job isn't it?
Hi_Henry
The Living Force
Without the Internet we would have had little clue as to how well this is works for the Puppet Masters.
There is this link that clearly exposes one White Helmet at being a terrorist. It is so clear if more proof was ever needed. The guy has continually posted on his own facebook page all his activities of execution of Syrian soldiers and other terrorists activities that he participated in as well as images of him as a White Helmet guy.
Western Media Cover-up: Well-Known White Helmet Terrorist Was Present at Rashideen Bus Bombing That Killed 126 Women and Children on April 15, 2017
Western Media Cover-up: Well-Known White Helmet Terrorist Was Present at Rashideen Bus Bombing That Killed 126 Women and Children on April 15, 2017
The well-known White Helmet and Jund-Al-Aqsa terrorist Muawiya Hassan Agha along with his terrorist accomplices were present at the site of the devastating bombing of civilians being evacuated from the Shiite villages of Fuah and Kafriya on April 15, 2017 as proven by his own acknowledgement. This fact was made known on his own Facebook page. ( Additional note – Facebook allows the terrorists in Syria free rein to promote themselves- many of their own posts show them leading a double life as both weapon carrying terrorists conducting atrocities and fake White Helmet humanitarian rescuers saving small children. Many of their postings include actual beheadings even though the posting of these horrific warcrimes is in clear violation of Facebook’s own posting policies, however, it seems Facebook continually allows this to go on unchecked. Many of the pictures attained by online terrorist trackers and researchers come from these unregulated Facebook pages.
Muawiya Hassan Agha states on his own Facebook page that he was present in the vicinity of the Rashideen at the time of the Bus bombing/massacre.
Photo of Muawiya Hassan Agha dated April 14 shows he attended loading of buses around time of massacre.
Muawiya Hassan Agha and his jihadists accomplices, who have appeared as White Helmets, Jund Al Aqsa and Al Qaeda, should be among the primary suspects of the bombing attack in Rashideen. There is also the suspicion that this group is responsible not only for the bombing, but also for the subsequent abduction of numerous persons, most of them children, in terrorist controlled towns in the province of Idlib, and the exploitation of the chaos caused by the bombing that was intentionally misreported by western media outlets.
In the following photos we see Muawiya Hassan Agha conducting his regular terrorist activity and posting it to his Facebook page.
Here he is with captured Syrian soldiers who were tortured on camera and later executed, as proven below
----
The link has many more images and proofs, but too many to put in this post.
Western Media Cover-up: Well-Known White Helmet Terrorist Was Present at Rashideen Bus Bombing That Killed 126 Women and Children on April 15, 2017
Western Media Cover-up: Well-Known White Helmet Terrorist Was Present at Rashideen Bus Bombing That Killed 126 Women and Children on April 15, 2017
The well-known White Helmet and Jund-Al-Aqsa terrorist Muawiya Hassan Agha along with his terrorist accomplices were present at the site of the devastating bombing of civilians being evacuated from the Shiite villages of Fuah and Kafriya on April 15, 2017 as proven by his own acknowledgement. This fact was made known on his own Facebook page. ( Additional note – Facebook allows the terrorists in Syria free rein to promote themselves- many of their own posts show them leading a double life as both weapon carrying terrorists conducting atrocities and fake White Helmet humanitarian rescuers saving small children. Many of their postings include actual beheadings even though the posting of these horrific warcrimes is in clear violation of Facebook’s own posting policies, however, it seems Facebook continually allows this to go on unchecked. Many of the pictures attained by online terrorist trackers and researchers come from these unregulated Facebook pages.
Muawiya Hassan Agha states on his own Facebook page that he was present in the vicinity of the Rashideen at the time of the Bus bombing/massacre.
Photo of Muawiya Hassan Agha dated April 14 shows he attended loading of buses around time of massacre.
Muawiya Hassan Agha and his jihadists accomplices, who have appeared as White Helmets, Jund Al Aqsa and Al Qaeda, should be among the primary suspects of the bombing attack in Rashideen. There is also the suspicion that this group is responsible not only for the bombing, but also for the subsequent abduction of numerous persons, most of them children, in terrorist controlled towns in the province of Idlib, and the exploitation of the chaos caused by the bombing that was intentionally misreported by western media outlets.
In the following photos we see Muawiya Hassan Agha conducting his regular terrorist activity and posting it to his Facebook page.
Here he is with captured Syrian soldiers who were tortured on camera and later executed, as proven below
----
The link has many more images and proofs, but too many to put in this post.
Hi_Henry
The Living Force
These cockroaches have been given 15-minutes of fame because they are useful to those that play Geopolitical Chess on a Global scale. When the winds of fortune change, and they will, we will never hear about them again. Nor will we find traces of them as they decay beneath the sands of the desert. They are playing with the Devil who cares little about those who help him play his game. Karma is fairness at its extreme.
It's good they are posting on FB. Thus there will be a good record of who was who, what they did, when they were at a particular time and what happened while they were there on a particular day. Angels of vengeance will have an easy time with this much info.
angelburst29
The Living Force
The Syrian state news agency on Friday night on releasing a video of a false-flag chemical attack in Idlib province filmed by the pro-militant White Helmets Organization to later frame the Damascus troops.
Sat Sep 22, 2018 - Syria Discovers Fake Video of Chemical Attack in Idlib
Farsnews
The video shows the White Helmets Organization's members pouring water on people allegedly targeted by a chemical attack in Idlib.
In the meantime, the Arabic-language website of Sputnik reported that there are three different copies of the video with slightly different scenarios.
It further said that in one of the videos the so-called victims of the fake chemical attack are lying on the ground and a rescue team is transferring a man to an ambulance and other members of the team are pouring water on the head of a child. In the second and third copies of the fake video, the same chemically wounded man is standing and helping other people pour water on the child.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced several weeks ago that terrorists, deployed n Jisr al-Shughour in Western Idlib, were filming nine video clips of a fake chemical attack with cooperation of American and regional networks to raise allegation against Damascus forces and pave the ground for fresh raids on Syria's soil.
An Arab media outlet reported earlier this month that the pro-militant White Helmets Organization, directed by its foreign supporters, were planning to transfer poisonous materials to new locations in Hama province as terrorist groups were trying to stage a false-flag chemical attack.
The Arabic-language al-Mayadeen TV channel quoted a well-informed source in Jisr al-Shughour as disclosing that the White Helmets were planning to transfer a large volume of poisonous materials to Qala al-Maziq and Kafr Naboudeh in Northern Hama as requested by their foreign backers.
It went on to say that the terrorists and the White Helmets were planning to make a ten-minute video of a fake chemical attack to send two copies of the video to the United Nations, adding that a meeting which was to be held over the release of the video of the fake chemical attack has been postponed.
21.09.2018 - Alleged Video of Idlib Chemical Attack Fabrication Circulated by Syrian Media
Alleged Video of Idlib Chemical Attack Fabrication Circulated by Syrian Media
Syrian Arab News Agency has posted a footage of an alleged chemical attack fabrication in Syrian city of Idlib.
A video reportedly depicting a chemical attack fabrication in Syria's Idlib has been circulating Syrian media, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported. The agency said that the footage depicts "White Helmets" group staging an attack in order to accuse the government forces of chemical weapons use.
In the five-minute video posted by the agency, there are three versions of the same footage with slightly different "scenarios" and the arrangement of people. At the beginning of the video, the alleged "victims of a chemical attack" are lying on the ground, one man is being transferred on a stretcher to an ambulance, and a child is being hosed with water in a pickup van.
However, in the second and third versions of the video, the man no longer lies on a stretcher, but helps the others to hose the child with water.
The initially posted video was removed from YouTube for violation of terms of service shortly after it was published. It was also posted by other users, however.
Warning! Graphic content ahead.
Published on Sep 21, 2018 (5:17 min.)
18.09.2018 - White Helmets Continue to Prepare Provocations in Idlib - Russian Envoy
White Helmets Continue to Prepare Provocations in Idlib - Russian Envoy
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation already warned of possible false flag operations in the rebel-held region, claiming that the terrorists had transported several barrels of chlorine gas to the village of Basankul, near Idlib.
"Militants and White Helmet activists in the Idlib de-escalation zone are continuing preparations to stage false chemical attacks," Russian Envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
The statement comes just a day after Moscow and Ankara signed a settlement memorandum, announcing they would establish demilitarized zone along the contact line between the armed opposition and Syrian troops.
Earlier in September, the Russian military stated that the White Helmets and Nusra Front* terrorists had approved videos of two scenes which would be transferred to the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in order to slander Damascus and justify possible operations against the Syrian government.
Sat Sep 22, 2018 - Tahrir Al-Sham Sends Chemical Cargos to ISIL Terrorists in Northern Syria
Farsnews
Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) terrorist group has dispatched a poisonous gas cargo to ISIL in Northern Hama and Lattakia, well-informed sources reported on Saturday.
The Arabic-language website of Russia's state news agency, Sputnik, quoted the source as reporting that Tahrir al-Sham has dispatched six cargoes of Sarin and chlorine gas to the ISIL and Ansar al-Towhid terrorists that have recently been deployed in Northern Hama and Northeastern Lattakia.
It further said that most of the regions, where the ISIL has deployed forces in Hama and Lattakia, are among regions where militants should be disarmed based on the Sochi agreement.
The Arabic Sputnik went on to say that the fate of three other chemical cargoes is unknown after a number of members of the pro-militant White Helmets Organization were killed and could not hand over the chemicals to the recipient group in an area between Northeastern Idlib and Aleppo province.
Other news sources recently said that ISIL's Asian members have merged in Tahrir al-Sham and deployed forces in regions that are under the control of al-Turkistani Islamic Party in western and Southwestern Idlib.
An Arab media outlet reported earlier this month that the pro-militant White Helmets Organization, directed by its foreign supporters, were planning to transfer poisonous materials to new locations in Hama province as terrorist groups were trying to stage a false-flag chemical attack.
The Arabic-language al-Mayadeen TV channel quoted a well-informed source in Jisr al-Shughour as disclosing that the White Helmets were planning to transfer a large volume of poisonous materials to Qala al-Maziq and Kafr Naboudeh in Northern Hama as requested by their foreign backers.
It went on to say that the terrorists and the White Helmets were planning to make a ten-minute video of a fake chemical attack to send two copies of the video to the United Nations, adding that a meeting which was to be held over the release of the video of the fake chemical attack has been postponed.
Sat Sep 22, 2018 - Syria Discovers Fake Video of Chemical Attack in Idlib
Farsnews
The video shows the White Helmets Organization's members pouring water on people allegedly targeted by a chemical attack in Idlib.
In the meantime, the Arabic-language website of Sputnik reported that there are three different copies of the video with slightly different scenarios.
It further said that in one of the videos the so-called victims of the fake chemical attack are lying on the ground and a rescue team is transferring a man to an ambulance and other members of the team are pouring water on the head of a child. In the second and third copies of the fake video, the same chemically wounded man is standing and helping other people pour water on the child.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced several weeks ago that terrorists, deployed n Jisr al-Shughour in Western Idlib, were filming nine video clips of a fake chemical attack with cooperation of American and regional networks to raise allegation against Damascus forces and pave the ground for fresh raids on Syria's soil.
An Arab media outlet reported earlier this month that the pro-militant White Helmets Organization, directed by its foreign supporters, were planning to transfer poisonous materials to new locations in Hama province as terrorist groups were trying to stage a false-flag chemical attack.
The Arabic-language al-Mayadeen TV channel quoted a well-informed source in Jisr al-Shughour as disclosing that the White Helmets were planning to transfer a large volume of poisonous materials to Qala al-Maziq and Kafr Naboudeh in Northern Hama as requested by their foreign backers.
It went on to say that the terrorists and the White Helmets were planning to make a ten-minute video of a fake chemical attack to send two copies of the video to the United Nations, adding that a meeting which was to be held over the release of the video of the fake chemical attack has been postponed.
21.09.2018 - Alleged Video of Idlib Chemical Attack Fabrication Circulated by Syrian Media
Alleged Video of Idlib Chemical Attack Fabrication Circulated by Syrian Media
Syrian Arab News Agency has posted a footage of an alleged chemical attack fabrication in Syrian city of Idlib.
A video reportedly depicting a chemical attack fabrication in Syria's Idlib has been circulating Syrian media, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported. The agency said that the footage depicts "White Helmets" group staging an attack in order to accuse the government forces of chemical weapons use.
In the five-minute video posted by the agency, there are three versions of the same footage with slightly different "scenarios" and the arrangement of people. At the beginning of the video, the alleged "victims of a chemical attack" are lying on the ground, one man is being transferred on a stretcher to an ambulance, and a child is being hosed with water in a pickup van.
However, in the second and third versions of the video, the man no longer lies on a stretcher, but helps the others to hose the child with water.
The initially posted video was removed from YouTube for violation of terms of service shortly after it was published. It was also posted by other users, however.
Warning! Graphic content ahead.
18.09.2018 - White Helmets Continue to Prepare Provocations in Idlib - Russian Envoy
White Helmets Continue to Prepare Provocations in Idlib - Russian Envoy
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation already warned of possible false flag operations in the rebel-held region, claiming that the terrorists had transported several barrels of chlorine gas to the village of Basankul, near Idlib.
"Militants and White Helmet activists in the Idlib de-escalation zone are continuing preparations to stage false chemical attacks," Russian Envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
The statement comes just a day after Moscow and Ankara signed a settlement memorandum, announcing they would establish demilitarized zone along the contact line between the armed opposition and Syrian troops.
Earlier in September, the Russian military stated that the White Helmets and Nusra Front* terrorists had approved videos of two scenes which would be transferred to the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in order to slander Damascus and justify possible operations against the Syrian government.
Sat Sep 22, 2018 - Tahrir Al-Sham Sends Chemical Cargos to ISIL Terrorists in Northern Syria
Farsnews
Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) terrorist group has dispatched a poisonous gas cargo to ISIL in Northern Hama and Lattakia, well-informed sources reported on Saturday.
The Arabic-language website of Russia's state news agency, Sputnik, quoted the source as reporting that Tahrir al-Sham has dispatched six cargoes of Sarin and chlorine gas to the ISIL and Ansar al-Towhid terrorists that have recently been deployed in Northern Hama and Northeastern Lattakia.
It further said that most of the regions, where the ISIL has deployed forces in Hama and Lattakia, are among regions where militants should be disarmed based on the Sochi agreement.
The Arabic Sputnik went on to say that the fate of three other chemical cargoes is unknown after a number of members of the pro-militant White Helmets Organization were killed and could not hand over the chemicals to the recipient group in an area between Northeastern Idlib and Aleppo province.
Other news sources recently said that ISIL's Asian members have merged in Tahrir al-Sham and deployed forces in regions that are under the control of al-Turkistani Islamic Party in western and Southwestern Idlib.
An Arab media outlet reported earlier this month that the pro-militant White Helmets Organization, directed by its foreign supporters, were planning to transfer poisonous materials to new locations in Hama province as terrorist groups were trying to stage a false-flag chemical attack.
The Arabic-language al-Mayadeen TV channel quoted a well-informed source in Jisr al-Shughour as disclosing that the White Helmets were planning to transfer a large volume of poisonous materials to Qala al-Maziq and Kafr Naboudeh in Northern Hama as requested by their foreign backers.
It went on to say that the terrorists and the White Helmets were planning to make a ten-minute video of a fake chemical attack to send two copies of the video to the United Nations, adding that a meeting which was to be held over the release of the video of the fake chemical attack has been postponed.
angelburst29
The Living Force
The video was initially posted on YouTube, but was quickly deleted.
September 22, 2018 - White Helmets making staged video of Idlib chemical attack — SANA
White Helmets making staged video of Idlib chemical attack — SANA
© EPA-EFE/MOHAMMED BADRA
The notorious White Helmets group, related to the Syrian opposition, is now working on a fake video footage of a staged chemical attack in the Idlib province, according to a leaked video obtained by the SANA news agency.
The video was initially posted on YouTube, but was quickly deleted, and the link to it is now invalid.
According to the agency, the footage shows a number of people being hosed with water by White Helmets activists, in a bid to create the impression that they are trying to help them after an attack with chemical weapons.
However, some of the people who are being sprayed with water are in later shots playing the role of paramedics themselves. Besides, two sequences show a man being taken into an ambulance in the exact same way, but once with his shirt buttoned and once with it unbuttoned.
According to the agency, the video demonstrates that several "takes" were made of the same scene, apparently in a bid to create a fake video of the attack and thus provoke strikes on the government forces by the US-led coalition.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that members of the Jabhat al-Nusra terror group (outlawed in Russia) are providing chemical weapons to their affiliated terrorists active in the Syrian province of Idlib in order to arrange a chemical weapons provocation that would give the US-led coalition an excuse to conduct a missile attack. According to her, the White Helmets may play a key role in the staged incident.
Situation in Idlib
Idlib is the only Syrian province still controlled by illegal armed groups. In 2017, a de-escalation zone was established in the region, where militants reluctant to lay down their arms can move together with their families. According to United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, Idlib currently hosts about 10,000 militants from the Jabhat al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda terror groups (both outlawed in Russia).
Washington says that the Syrian government forces may carry out a chemical weapons attack in Idlib and warned that such actions will have serious consequences. Moscow believes that these statements point to preparations for a new attack on Syria.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 25 that militants were making preparations together with British intelligence services to stage a chemical weapons attack in the Idlib province and blame it on the Syrian government.
(As a side note - on chemical weapons - US/NATO use of phosphorous bombs in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor governorate.)
September 9, 2018 - US warplanes use phosphorus bomb to deliver airstrikes in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
US warplanes use phosphorus bomb to deliver airstrikes in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
According to the Russian defense ministry the airstrikes caused heavy fires.
Phosphorous bombs were used by the US air force warplanes to deliver a strike on the settlement of Hajin in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor governorate on September 8, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties Vladimir Savchenko said on Sunday.
"On September 8, 2018, two F-15 warplanes of the US air force delivered airstrikes on the settlement of Hajin with the use of phosphorous bombs. The airstrikes caused heavy fires. Information about casualties and damages is being verified," he said.
The Russian reconciliations center warned that the use of munitions containing yellow phosphorus is prohibited by an additional protocol to the Geneva Convention of 1949.
According to Savchenko, over the past day officers of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties conducted two humanitarian operations in the settlements of Marran in the Aleppo governorate and al-Sawara in the Daraa governorate. As many as 740 bags with food with an overall weight of 3.19 tonnes were distributed among civilians. A total of 450 junior schoolchildren received school uniforms and backpacks with school kits. A tonne of freshly baked bread was delivered to the settlement of Marran.
"Targeted humanitarian assistance was delivered to the families of 15 killed Syrian servicemen in Aleppo’s Shaiban Pasha, Sheikh Fars, al-Qasidiya, Sheikh Hoder and al-Sahur neighborhoods," he said.
Apart from that, as many as 241 Syrians, including 119 children, received medical assistance from Russian military doctors during the day.
The Russian reconciliation center registers a growing number of ceasefire violations by illegal armed groups in the Latakia and Hama governorates and in Aleppo’s southwestern neighborhoods. "Apart from that, the settlement of Tadef in the Aleppo governorate came under shelling from the positions of the Free Syrian Army deployed in a territory near the city of al-Bab that is controlled by pro-Turkish groups," the Russian general said.
Russian reconciliation center
The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.
September 22, 2018 - White Helmets making staged video of Idlib chemical attack — SANA
White Helmets making staged video of Idlib chemical attack — SANA
© EPA-EFE/MOHAMMED BADRA
The notorious White Helmets group, related to the Syrian opposition, is now working on a fake video footage of a staged chemical attack in the Idlib province, according to a leaked video obtained by the SANA news agency.
The video was initially posted on YouTube, but was quickly deleted, and the link to it is now invalid.
According to the agency, the footage shows a number of people being hosed with water by White Helmets activists, in a bid to create the impression that they are trying to help them after an attack with chemical weapons.
However, some of the people who are being sprayed with water are in later shots playing the role of paramedics themselves. Besides, two sequences show a man being taken into an ambulance in the exact same way, but once with his shirt buttoned and once with it unbuttoned.
According to the agency, the video demonstrates that several "takes" were made of the same scene, apparently in a bid to create a fake video of the attack and thus provoke strikes on the government forces by the US-led coalition.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that members of the Jabhat al-Nusra terror group (outlawed in Russia) are providing chemical weapons to their affiliated terrorists active in the Syrian province of Idlib in order to arrange a chemical weapons provocation that would give the US-led coalition an excuse to conduct a missile attack. According to her, the White Helmets may play a key role in the staged incident.
Situation in Idlib
Idlib is the only Syrian province still controlled by illegal armed groups. In 2017, a de-escalation zone was established in the region, where militants reluctant to lay down their arms can move together with their families. According to United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, Idlib currently hosts about 10,000 militants from the Jabhat al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda terror groups (both outlawed in Russia).
Washington says that the Syrian government forces may carry out a chemical weapons attack in Idlib and warned that such actions will have serious consequences. Moscow believes that these statements point to preparations for a new attack on Syria.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 25 that militants were making preparations together with British intelligence services to stage a chemical weapons attack in the Idlib province and blame it on the Syrian government.
(As a side note - on chemical weapons - US/NATO use of phosphorous bombs in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor governorate.)
September 9, 2018 - US warplanes use phosphorus bomb to deliver airstrikes in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
US warplanes use phosphorus bomb to deliver airstrikes in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
According to the Russian defense ministry the airstrikes caused heavy fires.
Phosphorous bombs were used by the US air force warplanes to deliver a strike on the settlement of Hajin in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor governorate on September 8, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties Vladimir Savchenko said on Sunday.
"On September 8, 2018, two F-15 warplanes of the US air force delivered airstrikes on the settlement of Hajin with the use of phosphorous bombs. The airstrikes caused heavy fires. Information about casualties and damages is being verified," he said.
The Russian reconciliations center warned that the use of munitions containing yellow phosphorus is prohibited by an additional protocol to the Geneva Convention of 1949.
According to Savchenko, over the past day officers of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties conducted two humanitarian operations in the settlements of Marran in the Aleppo governorate and al-Sawara in the Daraa governorate. As many as 740 bags with food with an overall weight of 3.19 tonnes were distributed among civilians. A total of 450 junior schoolchildren received school uniforms and backpacks with school kits. A tonne of freshly baked bread was delivered to the settlement of Marran.
"Targeted humanitarian assistance was delivered to the families of 15 killed Syrian servicemen in Aleppo’s Shaiban Pasha, Sheikh Fars, al-Qasidiya, Sheikh Hoder and al-Sahur neighborhoods," he said.
Apart from that, as many as 241 Syrians, including 119 children, received medical assistance from Russian military doctors during the day.
The Russian reconciliation center registers a growing number of ceasefire violations by illegal armed groups in the Latakia and Hama governorates and in Aleppo’s southwestern neighborhoods. "Apart from that, the settlement of Tadef in the Aleppo governorate came under shelling from the positions of the Free Syrian Army deployed in a territory near the city of al-Bab that is controlled by pro-Turkish groups," the Russian general said.
Russian reconciliation center
The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.
angelburst29
The Living Force
Short Russian News clip with English subtitles.
Idlib Atrocity propaganda still a go
Published on Sep 18, 2018 (1:07 min.)
Idlib Atrocity propaganda still a go
angelburst29
The Living Force
Vanessa Beeley released exclusive video and photos today ‘following the tracks’ of the White Helmets along a ratline used to evacuate them out of Syria earlier this year.
September 18, 2018 - White Helmets ‘Evacuation Route’ Out of Syria Revealed
https://21stcenturywire.com/2018/09/18/watch-white-helmets-evacuation-route-out-of-syria-revealed/
Watch: “Video of route that White Helmets took during the Zionist facilitated evacuation from Quneitra.”
September 18, 2018 - White Helmets ‘Evacuation Route’ Out of Syria Revealed
https://21stcenturywire.com/2018/09/18/watch-white-helmets-evacuation-route-out-of-syria-revealed/
Watch: “Video of route that White Helmets took during the Zionist facilitated evacuation from Quneitra.”
angelburst29
The Living Force
2018-09-25 - White Helmet members granted asylum in Britain
White helmet members granted asylum in Britain
Up to 100 white Helmet members and their families were granted asylum in the UK after mass evacuation from Syria.
According to media reports, the first family has already been resettled in the UK with the rest are expected to arrive early next month.
In July, some 100 members of the controversial rescue organization – along with family members – were evacuated out of southern Syria through Israel to Jordan.
The mass evacuation mission was conceived by Britain, Germany and Canada, and supported by Israel, Jordan, US and the UN.
The civil defense volunteers, widely known as the White Helmets, are accused of staging fake chemical attacks in northern Syria in order to prompt western countries into bombing positions for the Syrian Army.
24.09.2018 - London starts 'Resettlement' of White Helmets Activists from Syria to UK
London Starts 'Resettlement' of White Helmets Activists From Syria to UK
The UK government confirmed on Monday that it had started "resettling" activists of the White Helmets group and their family members from Syria to the United Kingdom.
"Under the well-established practices of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), the Home Office is working closely with UNHCR, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to resettle [to the United Kingdom] the families [of White Helmets activists]," the statement read.
Earlier in September, Russian Ministry of Defense and Russian Foreign Ministry said that the terrorist groups controlling Idlib province in Syria, in cooperation, with White Helmets, were preparing a provocation using hazardous chemicals in case of Syrian army offensive in the province.
"We provide on a daily basis the facts proving that another provocation, which is likely to be carried out by the so-called White Helmets, is being prepared," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on September 14.
White helmet members granted asylum in Britain
Up to 100 white Helmet members and their families were granted asylum in the UK after mass evacuation from Syria.
According to media reports, the first family has already been resettled in the UK with the rest are expected to arrive early next month.
In July, some 100 members of the controversial rescue organization – along with family members – were evacuated out of southern Syria through Israel to Jordan.
The mass evacuation mission was conceived by Britain, Germany and Canada, and supported by Israel, Jordan, US and the UN.
The civil defense volunteers, widely known as the White Helmets, are accused of staging fake chemical attacks in northern Syria in order to prompt western countries into bombing positions for the Syrian Army.
24.09.2018 - London starts 'Resettlement' of White Helmets Activists from Syria to UK
London Starts 'Resettlement' of White Helmets Activists From Syria to UK
The UK government confirmed on Monday that it had started "resettling" activists of the White Helmets group and their family members from Syria to the United Kingdom.
"Under the well-established practices of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), the Home Office is working closely with UNHCR, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to resettle [to the United Kingdom] the families [of White Helmets activists]," the statement read.
Earlier in September, Russian Ministry of Defense and Russian Foreign Ministry said that the terrorist groups controlling Idlib province in Syria, in cooperation, with White Helmets, were preparing a provocation using hazardous chemicals in case of Syrian army offensive in the province.
"We provide on a daily basis the facts proving that another provocation, which is likely to be carried out by the so-called White Helmets, is being prepared," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on September 14.
angelburst29
The Living Force
Sept. 29, 2018 - White Helmets ‘first witness’ to Syria massacres: Chief
White Helmets ‘first witness’ to Syria massacres: Chief
Raed al-Saleh, director of the White Helmets in Ankara, Turkey on September 22, 2018. ( Abdulhamit Topal - Anadolu Agency )
The head of the White Helmets civil defense agency said his organization has been subject to false charges and allegations because of its role as a witness to ongoing massacres in war-torn Syria.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Raed Salah said the White Helmets welcomes financial support from any country or organization provided that the funds were not politically-driven.
“By the end of 2012, some regions in Syria began to fall out of the regime control. As regime forces began to shell civilian settlements and carry out attacks, there was a need for a group to save civilians from these attacks,” he said.
According to Salah, the name of the civil defense agency was derived from the helmets worn by its members during rescue operations.
He said members of the White Helmets have reached 4,300 volunteers by the end of 2017. Nevertheless, they can only operate in certain areas where they are allowed to.
“As the regime designates us as a terror group, we cannot operate in areas under its control. We have been repeatedly threatened [by the regime],” he said.
“Also, we cannot operate in YPG/PKK-held areas,” he said, adding that White Helmets volunteers were arrested by YPG/PKK in 2015.
“They seized our ambulances and rescue equipment in Afrin,” he said. “Due to similar reasons, we cannot operate in Daesh-held areas.”
Salah said the civil defense agency can only operate in opposition-held areas in northern Syria, the Euphrates Shield zones and Oil Branch Operation zones.
“In addition to rescue operations, the White Helmets also intervene to extinguish fires, solve water and electricity problems and help with rubble cleaning,” he said.
Established in 2013, the White Helmets was nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2013, the civil defense agency members were trained by Turkey’s Search and Rescue Association, AKUT.
Financial sources
Salah said the White Helmets accepts financial support from any country or organization on the condition that the funds were not politically-driven.
“We welcome help and support from everyone who wants to back the Syrian people,” he said. “We don’t have any objection. Our only condition is no political or military agenda is imposed on us.”
Salah said the organization is supported by countries as Qatar, UK, US, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.
“We will ink an agreement with France,” he said. “The Turkish Red Crescent and IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation) are also supporting us.”
The White Helmets chief said the civil defense agency has never got any financial support from Israel.
“We would never accept financial support from Israel as we view it as a country of occupation,” he said, going on to deny that his volunteers had been evacuated from western Syria through Israel amid a military operation by regime forces.
Salah dismissed claims that the White Helmets was carrying out chemical attacks in Syria and heaping the blame on the Syrian regime.
“The party that is conducting chlorine gas and chemical attacks in Syria is obvious,” he said.
“Who has got chlorine gas barrels? The regime does. Who uses Sarin gas? The regime does,” he said. “The Syrian regime is the only one that has Sarin gas. The only party capable of using and carrying such attacks is the regime.”
Salah said such accusations were levelled against his group because the White Helmets was a first witness to ongoing massacres and human rights violations in the war-torn country.
“Russia does its best to whitewash the regime,” he said.
Achievements
Salah said his volunteers were repeatedly targeted by regime forces while rescuing civilians.
“We have been targeted by both regime and Russian warplanes for many times,” he said.
He said some of the White Helmets centers had been hit by regime forces and allies for several times.
“A total of 255 volunteers have been killed so far,” he said.
Salah said a survey conducted last year showed that 85 percent of respondents said that they would seek help from the White Helmets if needed.
“This is a great success for us,” he said. “Our greatest success, however, is that we have saved 115,000 civilian lives.”
“We have also planted the seeds of hope into the hearts and minds of a nation that was about to lose its hope,” he said.
Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
White Helmets ‘first witness’ to Syria massacres: Chief
Raed al-Saleh, director of the White Helmets in Ankara, Turkey on September 22, 2018. ( Abdulhamit Topal - Anadolu Agency )
The head of the White Helmets civil defense agency said his organization has been subject to false charges and allegations because of its role as a witness to ongoing massacres in war-torn Syria.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Raed Salah said the White Helmets welcomes financial support from any country or organization provided that the funds were not politically-driven.
“By the end of 2012, some regions in Syria began to fall out of the regime control. As regime forces began to shell civilian settlements and carry out attacks, there was a need for a group to save civilians from these attacks,” he said.
According to Salah, the name of the civil defense agency was derived from the helmets worn by its members during rescue operations.
He said members of the White Helmets have reached 4,300 volunteers by the end of 2017. Nevertheless, they can only operate in certain areas where they are allowed to.
“As the regime designates us as a terror group, we cannot operate in areas under its control. We have been repeatedly threatened [by the regime],” he said.
“Also, we cannot operate in YPG/PKK-held areas,” he said, adding that White Helmets volunteers were arrested by YPG/PKK in 2015.
“They seized our ambulances and rescue equipment in Afrin,” he said. “Due to similar reasons, we cannot operate in Daesh-held areas.”
Salah said the civil defense agency can only operate in opposition-held areas in northern Syria, the Euphrates Shield zones and Oil Branch Operation zones.
“In addition to rescue operations, the White Helmets also intervene to extinguish fires, solve water and electricity problems and help with rubble cleaning,” he said.
Established in 2013, the White Helmets was nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2013, the civil defense agency members were trained by Turkey’s Search and Rescue Association, AKUT.
Financial sources
Salah said the White Helmets accepts financial support from any country or organization on the condition that the funds were not politically-driven.
“We welcome help and support from everyone who wants to back the Syrian people,” he said. “We don’t have any objection. Our only condition is no political or military agenda is imposed on us.”
Salah said the organization is supported by countries as Qatar, UK, US, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.
“We will ink an agreement with France,” he said. “The Turkish Red Crescent and IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation) are also supporting us.”
The White Helmets chief said the civil defense agency has never got any financial support from Israel.
“We would never accept financial support from Israel as we view it as a country of occupation,” he said, going on to deny that his volunteers had been evacuated from western Syria through Israel amid a military operation by regime forces.
The evacuation of our volunteers was not through Israel. The volunteers went to the occupied Golan Heights before moving to Jordan. From there, they left to other countries, he said.
AllegationsSalah dismissed claims that the White Helmets was carrying out chemical attacks in Syria and heaping the blame on the Syrian regime.
“The party that is conducting chlorine gas and chemical attacks in Syria is obvious,” he said.
“Who has got chlorine gas barrels? The regime does. Who uses Sarin gas? The regime does,” he said. “The Syrian regime is the only one that has Sarin gas. The only party capable of using and carrying such attacks is the regime.”
Salah said such accusations were levelled against his group because the White Helmets was a first witness to ongoing massacres and human rights violations in the war-torn country.
“Russia does its best to whitewash the regime,” he said.
Achievements
Salah said his volunteers were repeatedly targeted by regime forces while rescuing civilians.
“We have been targeted by both regime and Russian warplanes for many times,” he said.
He said some of the White Helmets centers had been hit by regime forces and allies for several times.
“A total of 255 volunteers have been killed so far,” he said.
Salah said a survey conducted last year showed that 85 percent of respondents said that they would seek help from the White Helmets if needed.
“This is a great success for us,” he said. “Our greatest success, however, is that we have saved 115,000 civilian lives.”
“We have also planted the seeds of hope into the hearts and minds of a nation that was about to lose its hope,” he said.
Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
angelburst29
The Living Force
October 17, 2018 - Jordan says nearly 300 Syrian 'White Helmets' leave for West
Jordan says nearly 300 Syrian 'White Helmets' leave for West | Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Members of the Civil Defence, also known as the 'White Helmets', are seen inspecting the damage at a Roman ruin site in Daraa, Syria December 23, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa al-Faqir/File Photo
Nearly 300 Syrian "White Helmet" rescue workers and their families who fled Syria for Jordan three months ago have left for resettlement in Western countries under an U.N. sponsored agreement, Jordan said on Wednesday.
In July the rescue workers who had been operating in rebel-held areas fled advancing Russian-backed Syrian government troops and slipped over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights frontier and into Jordan, with the help of Israeli soldiers and Western powers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time he had helped the evacuation at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders and that there had been fears that the rescue workers’ lives were at risk.
Jordan had accepted them on humanitarian grounds after getting written guarantees they would be given asylum in Canada, Germany and Britain, Jordanian officials said.
The “White Helmets”, known officially as Syria Civil Defence, have been credited with saving thousands of people in rebel-held areas during years of bombing by Syrian government and Russian forces in the country’s civil war.
Its members say they are neutral. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his backers describe them as tools of Western propaganda and Islamist-led insurgents.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Qatarneh said 279 of the 422 people who took sanctuary in the kingdom had left, with 93 others due to leave by Oct. 25, near the end of a three-month period the authorities had given them to stay.
Another group’s departure would be delayed for two weeks until mid November as there were new-born babies and people receiving medical treatment among them al-Qatarneh told Reuters.
Jordan says nearly 300 Syrian 'White Helmets' leave for West | Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Members of the Civil Defence, also known as the 'White Helmets', are seen inspecting the damage at a Roman ruin site in Daraa, Syria December 23, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa al-Faqir/File Photo
Nearly 300 Syrian "White Helmet" rescue workers and their families who fled Syria for Jordan three months ago have left for resettlement in Western countries under an U.N. sponsored agreement, Jordan said on Wednesday.
In July the rescue workers who had been operating in rebel-held areas fled advancing Russian-backed Syrian government troops and slipped over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights frontier and into Jordan, with the help of Israeli soldiers and Western powers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time he had helped the evacuation at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders and that there had been fears that the rescue workers’ lives were at risk.
Jordan had accepted them on humanitarian grounds after getting written guarantees they would be given asylum in Canada, Germany and Britain, Jordanian officials said.
The “White Helmets”, known officially as Syria Civil Defence, have been credited with saving thousands of people in rebel-held areas during years of bombing by Syrian government and Russian forces in the country’s civil war.
Its members say they are neutral. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his backers describe them as tools of Western propaganda and Islamist-led insurgents.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Qatarneh said 279 of the 422 people who took sanctuary in the kingdom had left, with 93 others due to leave by Oct. 25, near the end of a three-month period the authorities had given them to stay.
Another group’s departure would be delayed for two weeks until mid November as there were new-born babies and people receiving medical treatment among them al-Qatarneh told Reuters.
angelburst29
The Living Force
20.10.2018 - Canada working to resettle Group of White Helmets
Canada Working to Resettle Group of White Helmets
"Together with a core group of international allies, Canada is working to resettle a group of White Helmets and their families after they had to flee Syria as a result of being specifically targeted by the Syrian regime and its backer, Russia," the release said on Friday.
Security screening is completed before members of the Syrian civil defense group can fly to Canada as refugees, the ministry said. (Comment - Security screening ??? OK, FEEL safer ... now? )
Canada has supported the White Helmets by assisting them to train more volunteers and expand, the release noted.
We have a moral obligation to assist the endangered members of this civil defence group and their families," the ministry added.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry of Jordan said in a statement 279 members of the White Helmets, who fled Syria, have now left Jordan to be resettled in the West.
Amman said in July that it agreed to grant the White Helmets passage through its territory after it had received a pledge from Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom that they would take the refugees in after three months.
Canada Working to Resettle Group of White Helmets
"Together with a core group of international allies, Canada is working to resettle a group of White Helmets and their families after they had to flee Syria as a result of being specifically targeted by the Syrian regime and its backer, Russia," the release said on Friday.
Security screening is completed before members of the Syrian civil defense group can fly to Canada as refugees, the ministry said. (Comment - Security screening ??? OK, FEEL safer ... now? )
Canada has supported the White Helmets by assisting them to train more volunteers and expand, the release noted.
We have a moral obligation to assist the endangered members of this civil defence group and their families," the ministry added.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry of Jordan said in a statement 279 members of the White Helmets, who fled Syria, have now left Jordan to be resettled in the West.
Amman said in July that it agreed to grant the White Helmets passage through its territory after it had received a pledge from Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom that they would take the refugees in after three months.
angelburst29
The Living Force
Sun Oct 21, 2018 - White Helmets, Terrorists Transfer Chemical Materials to New Location in Northwestern Syria
Farsnews
Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) and the pro-militant so-called aid group, White Helmets Organization, have jointly transferred poisonous and chemical materials to a new location in Idlib province to later use them in a false-flag attack, a media outlet reported on Sunday.
The Arabic-language website of Sputnik reported that Tahrir al-Sham transferred a consignment of chemical materials from the small town of Ma'arat Mesrin in Northern Idlib to Jisr al-Shughour region in the Western part of the province.
It further said that terrorists of Tahrir al-Sham, mostly Turkistani and Chechen gunmen, transferred a consignment of chemical materials including cylinders of Sarin and chlorine gas to Jisr al-Shughour under the monitoring of the White Helmets.
It went on to say that Tahrir al-Sham has kept a large number of its fighters on alert near one of the farms South of Ma'arat Mesrin amid transferring the chemicals.
Sputnik reported on Saturday that a sum of 11 members of the pro-militants White Helmets Organization and non-Syrians experts were killed after a huge explosion at the terrorists' chemical workshop in Idlib province near the border with Turkey.
Sputnik quoted well-informed sources as disclosing that a huge blast broke out at a workshop of the terrorists used for making chemicals in the small town of Tarmanin in Northern Idlib near the border with Turkey.
It further said that the workshop included a large volume of chemical, explosive materials and liquid chlorine barrels, adding that nine British, Chechen and Turkish experts and 2 members of the White Helmets were killed in the blast.
Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at along with the White Helmets had already cooperated in transferring chemicals to unknown locations in Northern Syria.
Farsnews
Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) and the pro-militant so-called aid group, White Helmets Organization, have jointly transferred poisonous and chemical materials to a new location in Idlib province to later use them in a false-flag attack, a media outlet reported on Sunday.
The Arabic-language website of Sputnik reported that Tahrir al-Sham transferred a consignment of chemical materials from the small town of Ma'arat Mesrin in Northern Idlib to Jisr al-Shughour region in the Western part of the province.
It further said that terrorists of Tahrir al-Sham, mostly Turkistani and Chechen gunmen, transferred a consignment of chemical materials including cylinders of Sarin and chlorine gas to Jisr al-Shughour under the monitoring of the White Helmets.
It went on to say that Tahrir al-Sham has kept a large number of its fighters on alert near one of the farms South of Ma'arat Mesrin amid transferring the chemicals.
Sputnik reported on Saturday that a sum of 11 members of the pro-militants White Helmets Organization and non-Syrians experts were killed after a huge explosion at the terrorists' chemical workshop in Idlib province near the border with Turkey.
Sputnik quoted well-informed sources as disclosing that a huge blast broke out at a workshop of the terrorists used for making chemicals in the small town of Tarmanin in Northern Idlib near the border with Turkey.
It further said that the workshop included a large volume of chemical, explosive materials and liquid chlorine barrels, adding that nine British, Chechen and Turkish experts and 2 members of the White Helmets were killed in the blast.
Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at along with the White Helmets had already cooperated in transferring chemicals to unknown locations in Northern Syria.
angelburst29
The Living Force
The controversial White Helmets rescue group has been praised in the Western media as heroes, and derided by the Syrian government as 'al-Qaeda's civil defense' network. But is there a middle ground between such polarizing views? A Sputnik correspondent got an unprecedented inside look into the group's operations in southern Syria.
22.10.2018 - Ex-White Helmets open up: 'We were used for their Political Agenda & Discarded
Ex-White Helmets Open Up: 'We Were Used for Their Political Agenda & Discarded'
A few months ago, visiting the Al-Omari mosque in Daraa Al Balad in the old section of the city of Daraa would have been impossible. It was here, in 2011, that the first large-scale protests against the Syrian government began, eventually sparking the gruesome, foreign-backed civil conflict which has lasted over seven long years and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Next to the mosque, in a former police building, Syria's national flag flies again. Before the ceasefire, the building served as the headquarters of the White Helmets. This summer, after the Syrian military's offensive to liberate southern Syria wrapped up and Russian military diplomacy helped secure peace, the White Helmets disbanded and handed the building back to the government.
Paying a visit to Daraa Al Balad, Sputnik correspondent Mikhail Alaeddin was able to meet with Hassan Farouk Mohammed, the former chief of the White Helmets in the area, as well as members of his staff, and got an exclusive first-hand look into the group's operations, and who they got their orders from.
At the entrance to the old city is a Syrian Army checkpoint. Beyond it, former members of the Free Syrian Army, a non-jihadist faction in the Syrian war, are tasked with ensuring security. A former FSA fighter accompanied Alaeddin into the city. During the drive to the former White Helmets headquarters, restoration work could be seen in residential blocks damaged during the war.
'We Aren't Daesh Here'
In the city center Alaeddin met Abu Sharif, a former militant leader, who invited him into the courtyard of his home. "How can I help you and what is it that you want?" he asked. After being told that Sputnik would like to get better acquainted with the White Helmets, he calmly got up and asked Alaeddin to follow him.
"We are revolutionaries here, and agreed to peace-making with the government for the sake of peace. We are not Nusra Front* or Daesh (ISIS).* They are terrorists. So relax, let's go to the police chief's place and they will tell you and show you everything," Sharif said.
At the police station, Alaeddin and his crew were met by the police chief, who ordered a subordinate to call Hassan Farouk Mohammed, the civil defense head, whose home is conveniently located just a few steps from the station. Hassan and other former White Helmets assemble, and a conversation starts.
A Message
"I would like you to convey a message, let everyone hear it. The White Helmets are a politicized organization that has nothing to do with neutrality," Hassan said, standing in front of a fire truck in the police station courtyard. "They carried out the tasks which were set for them, and then discarded us," he added.
Ex-White Helmets Open Up: 'We Were Used for Their Political Agenda & Discarded' (Photo)
According to the civil defense worker, the White Helmets gradually took over administrative control of all branches of the civil defense in parts of Syria controlled by militants. The leadership was based in Idlib, northern Syria and in neighboring Turkey. Funding was allocated to local civil defense units from these sources. In southern Syria, including Daraa, equipment was purchased in neighboring Jordan.
"This wasn't humanitarian aid or anything like that," Hassan emphasized. "Smugglers in Jordan bought the equipment and sold it to us at a premium – it was just business. The leadership of the White Helmets carried out their political agenda and abandoned us," he repeated, while pointing to oxygen cylinders, gas masks, helmets and German-made workwear. Most of the equipment looked new and still in its packaging, apparently having been bought relatively recently.
Ex-White Helmets Open Up: 'We Were Used for Their Political Agenda & Discarded' (Photo)
According to Hassan, he and his men formed a volunteer civil defense unit in militant-controlled Daraa long before the White Helmets appeared. After the White Helmets were established, his unit did not receive instructions to create provocations like those in Eastern Ghouta and elsewhere, the rescue chief insisted.
We don't know what happened in the Damascus suburbs, Aleppo and Idlib. It's possible that these were political put-up jobs ordered by the White Helmets' leaders in the north, and carried out for money, of course," one of Hassan's rescuers said, jumping into the conversation.
Hassan invited Alaeddin into his backyard for refreshments, where they were soon joined by two more former White Helmets.
"The fact that we did not disband after reconciliation and are talking to you now is proof that we honestly carried out our direct duties and have no reason to fear imprisonment or persecution. We are all locals, and when the authorities came back, we handed our ambulance over to them; our guys are now working on the other side of the city, unblocking roads and helping to clear the rubble," one of the men said.
Commenting on the evacuation of 300 White Helmets and 500 members of their families from southern Syria through Israel and Jordan at the request of the US, Canada and several Western European countries, Hassan admitted that four of his people left, presumably in search of a better life abroad. The rest of those of who left went home to neighboring Quneitra province, he said.
In July, Damascus accused Tel Aviv of evacuating members of the White Helmets and their families, with local media reporting that about 800 people in total were transported to Jordan via Israel. Jordanian officials have since confirmed that several hundred White Helmets members had been accepted in the country for a three month period, with 279 of them having left Jordan for resettlement in the West as of this week.
Efforts to learn more about the White Helmets' operations in Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta have been more difficult than in Daraa, with most of the members of the 'rescue groups' mysteriously dissolving after the Syrian government won back control of these cities, leaving behind only their branded helmets and emblems painted on the walls of residential buildings.
"We were meant to become the basis for the restoration of the new Syria. We helped and were willing to help all Syrians, no matter where they were. But the White Helmets ruined the reputation of civil defense workers, and carried out their deeds under the guise of being volunteers," Hassan concluded.
22.10.2018 - Ex-White Helmets open up: 'We were used for their Political Agenda & Discarded
Ex-White Helmets Open Up: 'We Were Used for Their Political Agenda & Discarded'
A few months ago, visiting the Al-Omari mosque in Daraa Al Balad in the old section of the city of Daraa would have been impossible. It was here, in 2011, that the first large-scale protests against the Syrian government began, eventually sparking the gruesome, foreign-backed civil conflict which has lasted over seven long years and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Next to the mosque, in a former police building, Syria's national flag flies again. Before the ceasefire, the building served as the headquarters of the White Helmets. This summer, after the Syrian military's offensive to liberate southern Syria wrapped up and Russian military diplomacy helped secure peace, the White Helmets disbanded and handed the building back to the government.
Paying a visit to Daraa Al Balad, Sputnik correspondent Mikhail Alaeddin was able to meet with Hassan Farouk Mohammed, the former chief of the White Helmets in the area, as well as members of his staff, and got an exclusive first-hand look into the group's operations, and who they got their orders from.
At the entrance to the old city is a Syrian Army checkpoint. Beyond it, former members of the Free Syrian Army, a non-jihadist faction in the Syrian war, are tasked with ensuring security. A former FSA fighter accompanied Alaeddin into the city. During the drive to the former White Helmets headquarters, restoration work could be seen in residential blocks damaged during the war.
'We Aren't Daesh Here'
In the city center Alaeddin met Abu Sharif, a former militant leader, who invited him into the courtyard of his home. "How can I help you and what is it that you want?" he asked. After being told that Sputnik would like to get better acquainted with the White Helmets, he calmly got up and asked Alaeddin to follow him.
"We are revolutionaries here, and agreed to peace-making with the government for the sake of peace. We are not Nusra Front* or Daesh (ISIS).* They are terrorists. So relax, let's go to the police chief's place and they will tell you and show you everything," Sharif said.
At the police station, Alaeddin and his crew were met by the police chief, who ordered a subordinate to call Hassan Farouk Mohammed, the civil defense head, whose home is conveniently located just a few steps from the station. Hassan and other former White Helmets assemble, and a conversation starts.
A Message
"I would like you to convey a message, let everyone hear it. The White Helmets are a politicized organization that has nothing to do with neutrality," Hassan said, standing in front of a fire truck in the police station courtyard. "They carried out the tasks which were set for them, and then discarded us," he added.
Ex-White Helmets Open Up: 'We Were Used for Their Political Agenda & Discarded' (Photo)
According to the civil defense worker, the White Helmets gradually took over administrative control of all branches of the civil defense in parts of Syria controlled by militants. The leadership was based in Idlib, northern Syria and in neighboring Turkey. Funding was allocated to local civil defense units from these sources. In southern Syria, including Daraa, equipment was purchased in neighboring Jordan.
"This wasn't humanitarian aid or anything like that," Hassan emphasized. "Smugglers in Jordan bought the equipment and sold it to us at a premium – it was just business. The leadership of the White Helmets carried out their political agenda and abandoned us," he repeated, while pointing to oxygen cylinders, gas masks, helmets and German-made workwear. Most of the equipment looked new and still in its packaging, apparently having been bought relatively recently.
Ex-White Helmets Open Up: 'We Were Used for Their Political Agenda & Discarded' (Photo)
According to Hassan, he and his men formed a volunteer civil defense unit in militant-controlled Daraa long before the White Helmets appeared. After the White Helmets were established, his unit did not receive instructions to create provocations like those in Eastern Ghouta and elsewhere, the rescue chief insisted.
We don't know what happened in the Damascus suburbs, Aleppo and Idlib. It's possible that these were political put-up jobs ordered by the White Helmets' leaders in the north, and carried out for money, of course," one of Hassan's rescuers said, jumping into the conversation.
Hassan invited Alaeddin into his backyard for refreshments, where they were soon joined by two more former White Helmets.
"The fact that we did not disband after reconciliation and are talking to you now is proof that we honestly carried out our direct duties and have no reason to fear imprisonment or persecution. We are all locals, and when the authorities came back, we handed our ambulance over to them; our guys are now working on the other side of the city, unblocking roads and helping to clear the rubble," one of the men said.
Commenting on the evacuation of 300 White Helmets and 500 members of their families from southern Syria through Israel and Jordan at the request of the US, Canada and several Western European countries, Hassan admitted that four of his people left, presumably in search of a better life abroad. The rest of those of who left went home to neighboring Quneitra province, he said.
In July, Damascus accused Tel Aviv of evacuating members of the White Helmets and their families, with local media reporting that about 800 people in total were transported to Jordan via Israel. Jordanian officials have since confirmed that several hundred White Helmets members had been accepted in the country for a three month period, with 279 of them having left Jordan for resettlement in the West as of this week.
Efforts to learn more about the White Helmets' operations in Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta have been more difficult than in Daraa, with most of the members of the 'rescue groups' mysteriously dissolving after the Syrian government won back control of these cities, leaving behind only their branded helmets and emblems painted on the walls of residential buildings.
"We were meant to become the basis for the restoration of the new Syria. We helped and were willing to help all Syrians, no matter where they were. But the White Helmets ruined the reputation of civil defense workers, and carried out their deeds under the guise of being volunteers," Hassan concluded.
