Syrian white helmets intervene after mortal attacks

When violence recently exploded in the coastal area of ​​Syria, including mass murders of civilians allegedly carried out as revenge for attacks against Syrian security forces, volunteer rescuers quickly came to help.

They were part of the Syrian Civil Defense Group known as the White Helmets, which had operated in areas controlled by the rebels during the civil war.

After the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December, the White Helmets arrived in the capital of Syria, Damascus, received as heroes for those who had supported the opposition.

Since then, they have begun to operate in more areas of the country devastated by war.

The majority of those killed in the recent attacks, which occurred for a period of days earlier this month, were alauitas, a branch of Shiite Islam and Assad’s minority sect.

Abdulkafi Kayal, head of Operations of the White Helmets in the coastal region of Syria, told the BBC that the group’s work transcended the policy: “When we are going to rescue someone who needs it, we do not ask them about their religion or political opinion … Our mandate is to help those in need.”

Throughout the civil war, Assad had described the White Helmets as a terrorist group, claiming that it worked for armed rebels. But the group always said that it was a neutral and humanitarian organization and that it has been praised worldwide for its work.

“We are Syrians, and we cannot separate our attention from an area more than the others,” Kayal said. “It’s our homeland, and we consider ourselves an umbrella to serve all Syrians.”

The recent outbreak of violence was the worst in Syria since the interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa led the rebel ray offensive that overthrew Assad.

They had been brewing tensions since December, when Assad’s supporters He killed 14 troops from the Ministry of Interior in an ambushTwo weeks after the former president was overthrown.

“We are here to serve everyone without differentiation,” Kayal said.

“Our slogan is ‘saving a life is to save all humanity’. It doesn’t matter if he is a Muslim, Sunita, Alauita, Christian, Druzador or even an atheist. Those families are our families.”

Last week, BBC News joined the White Helmets when the volunteers began to work in Tarrosto after the reports of a massacre in the town of Barmed.

The team recovered 10 bodies of government combatants, which seemed to have been thrown from a hillside to a valley. His hands and legs were tied, which suggests that they had been trapped on the opposite side.

Knowing, a state security officer who was on the scene, accused Assad Lealists of being responsible for the death of hundreds of his colleagues. BBC News could not independently verify this claim.

“When Syria was released from the Assad regime, we tried to keep everything under control, unite Syria, with all its governorates and components, to rebuild a new Syria from which we want to be proud in the Middle East,” he said.

But he added that this had been difficult, because “when we took control of the country, we had a personal problem with the militia (anti -assad) because most of them were victims of chemical attacks, bombs, massacres and many crimes that caused a devastating psychological impact on them.”

The images and video online seem to show soldiers who kill civilians, including children, in coastal areas where Alauita murders took place.

A man, Maen, told BBC News that his son and aunt had been killed by security forces. He buried them in his patio so they could remain close.

“We suffer under Assad and we are now prosecuted under this new government,” he said.

Maen’s wife cried as she looked at her son’s photo. “What did it do?” She asked. “I was 20 years old and did nothing to harm anyone.”

Al-Sharaa, interim president of Syria, has established an independent committee to investigate the murders and has insisted that perpetrators would be responsible.

But if their government wants to prevent a new civil war, many feel they must prove that it can protect the Alauitas and guarantee the rights of all citizens in the new Syria.