09 September 2018•Update: 10 September 2018
By Esref Musa
IDLIB, Syria
A footage showed Russian and regime jets targeting teams of the White Helmets while rescuing civilians in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.
The video showed a team of the White Helmets, a local civil defense agency, while extinguishing a fire that broke out after an airstrike in Khan Sheykhun.
Anas Diab, a civil defense member, was injured while capturing the video and pleaded for help by others around him when another strike hit the area near him.
Diab was later hospitalized after being dragged out of the area with the help of civilians.
The White Helmets have saved the lives of tens of thousands of civilians after attacks by the Bashar al-Assad regime and allies.
Established in 2013, the civil defense agency consists of more than 3,000 members.
The teams of the civil defense agency, which was nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize, carry out search and rescue efforts, while giving municipality services to the people at the same time.
They also inform the people in the region about the mines, improvised explosives and clearance of unexploded bombs.
Until now, they have rescued at least 115,000 civilians from the debris of bombardment by regime forces and allies.
The White Helmets, which work devotedly to save the lives of Syrian people, have lost 255 workers until today.
They also include 230 volunteer female workers.
In 2013, the White Helmets teams were trained by Turkey’s Search and Rescue Association, AKUT.
