Seven White Helmets workers shot dead in Syria

SEVEN members of the Syrian White Helmets rescue group were shot dead by unknown gunmen yesterday, sparking a manhunt and deep suspicions in the rebel-controlled province of Idlib.

The men were killed in their operations centre in the village of Sarmin at dawn, the group said. All had been shot at close range.

Hundreds of White Helmet volunteers have been killed in air strikes during the six-year Syrian war but opposition activists said it was the first time that members had been shot dead in this way.

“The heart is saddened, there are tears in our eyes for your departure,” said Raed al-Saleh, the founder of the White Helmets. “May God strengthen us and make us patient for facing this tragedy.”

The White Helmets have been lauded by Western countries for saving civilian lives in opposition areas in Syria and in 2016 they narrowly missed out on winning the Nobel Peace prize.

But the group also operates in areas controlled by jihadists and supporters of the Assad regime regularly accuse them of allying with terrorists.

Idlib province is now mainly controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist rebel group that is dominated by jihadists linked to al-Qaeda.

Activists in Idlib said they were baffled by the killings but did not think that HTS was responsible. The group has not targeted White Helmets in the past.

One theory was that agents of the Assad regime had killed the men to create suspicion and distrust between rival rebel groups. Another theory is that the killings were the work of a criminal gang, who wanted to steal equipment from the White Helmets centre.