Scores of White Helmets members left Jordan: Ministry

By Laith al-Junidi

AMMAN (AA) - Scores of members of Syria’s White Helmets civil defense agency have left Jordan to western countries, according to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.

“A total of 279 civil defense volunteers have left the kingdom,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement, however, did not specify to which countries the volunteers have moved.

According to the government, some 422 White Helmets volunteers had temporarily entered Jordan in July from Syria ahead of being resettled in western countries.

Jordanian authorities say the passage of the volunteers was upon the request of the United Nations for “humanitarian reasons”.

The ministry statement said the remaining members of the volunteer organisation will leave the country within two weeks.

Jordan hosts 1.3 million Syrians, half of whom are refugees, while the rest have entered the kingdom before the eruption of the Syrian conflict in 2011 for trade and marriage purposes.

White Helmets was founded in 2013 and includes 2,975 volunteers who have helped save tens of thousands of civilians from attacks by the Bashar al-Assad regime and its supporters.

The White Helmets carry out search, rescue and first aid operations for civilians in different parts of Syria, as well as providing public services to raise the people's awareness on clearance of mines and improvised explosive devices.