Now Syria’s volunteer rescuers known as the White Helmets risk their lives trying to pull victims from the rubble. His rescuer Khaled was killed in August in an air strike on the rebel-held east of the city, one of more than 140 White Helmets killed in the war. The rescue group emerged in 2013, when the civil war that has now killed more than 300,000 people was nearing its third year. “We are independent, neutral and impartial, we are not affiliated to any political or armed group,” White Helmet leader Raed Saleh told AFP last month. Others have charged that the group’s volunteers include rebel fighters or even jihadists, circulating pictures purportedly showing White Helmets in civilian clothing bearing arms.

Source: Manila Times October 08, 2016 11:48 UTC