![]() Their centres and teams of volunteers have been hit by missiles, barrel bombs and artillery bombardment 238 times in just over 18 months between June 2016 and December 2017.Īs frontline humanitarians, they are protected by international humanitarian law. More than half of those have been killed in ‘double-tap’ strikes where Syrian regime and Russian warplanes return to the site of a bombing to target the rescue workers. Their work has done what the world has failed to – restore hope to people who now know that, no matter what, there is someone there to help.Ģ52 volunteers have been killed in the line of duty since 2013. The White Helmets have emerged as heroes of the communities they serve. Their work includes fixing electrical grids, maintaining sewage works, clearing rubble from roads, removing unexploded weapons, as well as community education and preparation for future attacks. The work of the White Helmets has expanded in response to the needs of the communities they serve, now providing essential services to millions of people. The White Helmets is led by a democratically-elected Leadership Council that represents teams across the country, headed by Raed al Saleh who was formerly the Head of the White Helmets in Idlib, northern Syria. In October 2014, these teams voted to form one national organisation, the White Helmets (or Syria Civil Defence) and pledged allegiance to a set of international humanitarian values and principles as laid out in the Geneva Conventions. With this training the groups became more organised, establishing civil defence centres and specialised teams.īy 2014, there were teams in seven governorates across Syria. In March 2013, some of these volunteer teams received their first training in Turkey on the work of ‘urban search and rescue’ from a training organisation that specialises in response to natural disasters, such as earthquakes.
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