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Jordan Says Nearly 300 Syrian 'White Helmets' Leave for West


An Israeli solider hands out water on a bus, during the Syria Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, evacuation from the Golan Heights, Israel, in this still image taken from video, provided by the Israeli Army, July 22, 2018.
An Israeli solider hands out water on a bus, during the Syria Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, evacuation from the Golan Heights, Israel, in this still image taken from video, provided by the Israeli Army, July 22, 2018.

Around 300 Syrian "White Helmet" rescue workers who fled Syria for Jordan three months ago have now left for resettlement in Western countries, a Jordanian foreign ministry statement said on Wednesday.

In July the rescue workers, fleeing advancing Russian-backed Syrian government troops, 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 after getting guarantees their stay would be temporary and they would be given asylum in Canada,

Germany and Britain, Jordanian officials said.

The "White Helmets," known officially as Syria Civil Defense, 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.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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