U.S., Britain, Canada set to remove Syrian aid workers
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say the United States is finalizing plans to remove several hundred Syrian civil defence workers and their families from southwest Syria as Russian-backed government forces close in on the area.
Two officials familiar with the plans said Thursday that the U.S., Britain and Canada are spearheading the departure that would transport members of the White Helmets group to transit camps in neighbouring countries. From there, they will be sent to third countries, including Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and, possibly, Canada, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The officials, and a member of the White Helmets who is due to leave Quneitra province, said the operation appears to be imminent. The White Helmets, who have enjoyed backing from the U.S. and other Western nations, are likely to be targeted by Syrian forces as they retake control of the southwest, according to the officials.
The officials said planning for the evacuation has been underway for some time but accelerated after last week’s NATO summit in Brussels. “These are hard hours and minutes,” the White Helmets volunteer in Quneitra said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear for his life. “This is the worst day of my life. I hope they rescue us before it is too late.”
The evacuation is expected to take place from Quneitra, which straddles the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and where the civil defence team is trapped. It is the last sliver of land still outside government control in the region.
Since the government offensive began in June, the area along the frontier with the Golan Heights has been the safest in the southwestern region, attracting hundreds of displaced people because it is along the disengagement line with Israel demarcated in 1974 after a war. The Syrian government is unlikely tocarry out airstrikes.
Negotiations are also ongoing to remove armed rebels and their families who don’t want to accept the return of the rule of Bashar Assad’s government to Quneitra, which the rebels have controlled for years. The fighters will be sent to the northern part of Syria, where the opposition still holds sway.
Except for that sliver of land, the southern tip of the southwestern region lies along the border with Jordan and the Golan Heights and is occupied by an Islamic State-affiliated group. The area is expected to be the target of the next government advances and the civil defence teams don’t operate there.