The Syrian Civil Defense mourned volunteer Ali Hassan Baradei who was killed in the line of duty when Russian airstrikes hit the town of Zardana in rural Idlib on Thursday.
According to the aid group, also known as the White Helmets, Baradei worked in the civil defense center in the town of Killi, adding that he was killed in a double-tap airstrike that hit the nearby town of Zardana late on Thursday. The first Russian airstrike caused a massacre claiming the lives of dozens of civilians, the White Helmets said, adding that the Russian jets returned and bombed the same place as rescue workers were trying to help the victims. Three other rescue workers were also injured in the attack and are now in a critical condition.
The Civil Defense condemned the repeated targeting of its centers and volunteers, adding that the attacks destroyed many of its centers and killed dozens of its volunteers.
The White Helmets said it has so far saved the lives of more than 200,000 civilians since it was formed, noting that it lost more than 230 volunteers who were killed in the line of duty while helping victims of attacks by the Assad regime and its allies on populated areas. The group operates as an unaffiliated group and says it carries out up to 15 missions, most importantly helping victims of bombardment.
The White Helmets first emerged in 2012 to help victims of the Assad regime attacks on civilian areas. The organization received several international awards and was nominated by foreign and Syrian activists for the 2016 Nobel Prize.
The civil defense won the 2016 Irish Tipperary International Peace Prize in recognition of the efforts the volunteer group are making to save civilians and help local communities in Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
