On April 29th, 2017, the Syrian Civil Defense (henceforth White Helmets) center in Kafr Zeita, near Hama, Syria, came under sustained aerial bombardment from Russian and Syrian government aircraft. The precision with which the facility was struck, plus the use of bunker-busting munitions, strongly points to Russian aircraft as being the primary aggressors in this situation. This is not the first time Russian aircraft have been implicated in targeting hospitals, as was outlined in A/HRC/34/64. It is, however, the deadliest attack on a White Helmets facility thus-far in the war.
A White Helmets volunteer feeding a stray puppy
The White Helmets first began to form in late 2012 as the Assad government lost control over portions of Syria. In response to sustained bombardments and attacks, local civilians and former rescue workers began banding together to form neighborhood rescue organizations. Soon, funding from abroad (primarily the United States, Europe, Turkey, and Japan) began arriving, and a Turkish organization known as the AKUT Search and Rescue Organization began attempting to organize the independent groups into one unified formation. Ex-British Army officer James Le Mesuier worked with AKUT to produce a training program for the volunteer rescuers, and over the course of two years steadily began training more and more people for the vital, life-saving work. The workers were trained in trauma care, crisis management, command/control work, and search-and-rescue techniques. Finally, on October 25th, 2014, the Syrian Civil Defense was formed.
As of this writing, the 3,300+ volunteers in the organization have saved over 90,900 lives across rebel-held Syria. The very fact that they are exposing the crimes of the Syrian regime and its Russian allies makes them a target of loyalist forces. Allegations of their affiliation with Al Qaeda are unfounded, and stem largely from the fact that the White Helmets operate in almost all of opposition-held territory, including territory held by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (current incarnation of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham/Jabhat al-Nusra, or Al Qaeda’s former branch in Syria).
White Helmets volunteers responding to the April 15 evacuation convoy bombing
The White Helmets are impartial, but they have an obvious bias against the regime (considering the regime bombards them on a regular basis). They will rescue regardless of affiliation, as demonstrated by their recent response to the April 15th bus convoy bombing. The White Helmets primarily engage in tasks to accomplish their stated mission, which is “to save the greatest number of lives in the shortest possible time and to minimize further injury to people and damage to property.” The White Helmets engage in the 15 established protocols for civil defense organizations as outlined by Article 62 of the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions (1977), which states the following:
Article 62 — General protection
- Civilian civil defence organizations and their personnel shall be respected and protected, subject to the provisions of this Protocol, particularly the provisions of this Section. They shall be entitled to perform their civil defence tasks except in case of imperative military necessity.
- The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to civilians who, although not members of civilian civil defence organizations, respond to an appeal from the competent authorities and perform civil defence tasks under their control.
- Buildings and matériel used for civil defence purposes and shelters provided for the civilian population are covered by Article 52. Objects used for civil defence purposes may not be destroyed or diverted from their proper use except by the Party to which they belong.
Logo of the White Helmets
Thus, attacking a known civil defense center is a war crime, and is punishable under international law. In addition to being attacked in social media and by Russian/Syrian government officials, the White Helmets are physically attacked with weapons of war on a daily basis. As of this writing, 185 members of the organization have been killed across Syria. Yet despite this, the organization and its volunteers continue to put their lives on the line in order to save as many other people as possible. In a war that so often shows the dark side of humanity, the White Helmets are truly a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The Assadist propaganda targeting them alone is indicative of their effectiveness.
For more information about the White Helmets, please check out the following documentaries:
Syria’s White Helmets — Witness
The White Helmets (Netflix required)
In memory of the 279 heroes who have given their lives to save other souls. We will never forget you. The following SCD members were killed in the April 29 attack:
Ahmad Khaled Mustafa
Amer Raslan Abboud
Ahmad Hallak
Mostafa Mohammed Najjar
Ghassan Dallal
Mazen Sijnawi
Abdelhalim Alshahi
Ahmed al-Hussein
