Sabotaging Syria

Sheri Laizer | Exclusive to iKurd.net

Militant Jihadist groups, including fighters from Abu Mohamed al-Jolani’s Al-Nusra Front operated inside the White Helmets (Syrian Civil Defense Forces) to undermine the State and bring about regime change

Introduction

Picking up from my earlier article, Syria: The West’s ‘Red Line’ Fiction – Think Tanks, Jihadists and the White Helmets’ 1 numerous photographs and videos subsequently posted online have surfaced presenting inviolable evidence of White Helmets’ members supporting jihadists from ISIS, the al-Nusra Front (al-Qaeda’s Syrian franchise) Jaish al-Islam, and Nour al-Din al-Zenki, among others, cheering the arrival of jihadist forces in an area, being present and complicit at public executions, carrying away and posing with the bodies of dead Syrian soldiers and foes and set-dressing attacks launched by the jihadi groups as if they had been government attacks etc.. They also transported wounded civilians and government soldiers to Turkish hospitals where their organs were recycled to save the lives of militants.

A White Helmet’s media operator at the time confessed, “There’s no way to deny it”.

Former staffers were misrepresented by the organization as “volunteers”. These employees also posted images of themselves with jihadist group logos, as being present at attacks or at the scenes of strikes, on occasion heavily-armed or when posing with scimitars such as ISIS and Nour al-Din al-Zenki use when carrying out abeheadings2 and armed with RPGs and Kalashnikovs.

Frequently under the pretense of carrying out rescue functions, jihadists active within the White Helmets helped set-dress the scene, lit fires and simulated attacks for their colleagues to film so as to blame the government, including bringing wounded people from hospitals and bodies from the morgues. Children were painted to look like they were bleeding or frothing around the mouth from chemical weapons attacks. Stillborn babies were posed on the ‘set’ as if they were victims.

No greater staging was that of the Douma incident of April 2018 to which locations, Islamic militants transported the bodies and ‘cannisters’ and then the White Helmets presented it as a government attack. This modus operandi became routine. Uniformed White Helmets personnel locally recruited were all given head piece cameras. Frequently, no wounded persons were allowed to be helped until the White Helmets got there with their cameras, protected by armed militants. Their bases were set up in schools and hospitals that were then rendered out of use for their original purposes denying the children of the local population secular education and medical assistance. The White Helmets bases were next to, or close by militant bases, sometimes interconnected by tunnels or holes made between adjoining walls.

The original name, Mayday Rescue, went into administration in July 2020 and Chemonics, based in the US, took over the financial side although UK government funding endured. It had always been a highly lucrative commercial operation 3 but one with a secret mission – regime change in Syria through false flag operations and staging operations.

The White Helmets carried on its operations in Idlib under the control of al-Nusra, later Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and its final incarnation as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham operating the so-called Salvation government even as it seized power on December 8, 2024. Competition had ensued all along between jihadist groups including Turkish–run militants under the Free Syrian Army, later dubbed the Syrian National Army, although the latter were largely composed of Turkish and foreign jihadi forces. Many fighters changed sides from al-Nusra to ISIS or vice versa or were recycled from ISIS through the Turkish army and Turkish special forces.

A lengthy independent report running to 224 pages with photographs citing Syrian witnesses, former members of militant groups and former White Helmets employees (sometimes with the two roles combined) was presented in a press conference on April 29, 2019, as well as to the OPCW and UN by its authors, Maxim Grigoriev and S Maizel. It is called: The White Helmets: fact checking by eyewitnesses and former volunteers and published by the Russian NGO the Foundation for the Study of Democracy. 4

Key passages have been selected below for conciseness, as not everyone interested in the topic may car or have the time to read the entire document. Following the link will enable anyone who wishes to do so to access it in full. I have particularly brought out the involvement of Jabhat al-Nusra/HTS – now that this former UN and US-designated terrorist group controls Syria – and is being feted by the West, its acceptability spearheaded by the Trump administration and even entertained by Russia.

THE DOCUMENT

The overlap between the White Helmets and militant jihadist groups

Witness accounts assert how the “White Helmets personnel underwent combat training supervised by al-Nusra. They communicated with the armed groups or terrorist organisations that protected them, using coded messages, “something more commonly seen among military units. It was not uncommon for the White Helmets centres to be outfitted like military facilities or buildings occupied by terrorists in order to prepare their defence: openings were created in partition walls to enable people to move around without being noticed, and tunnels linked these centres to the quarters of illegal armed groups. Former members of the White Helmets said that whenever they failed to execute orders or diverged from the ideological or religious preferences of the unit’s leaders they could be handed over to a sharia court to face severe punishment up to the death penalty, arrested, imprisoned or fined…

“Former employees of the White Helmets said that quite a few people working at their centres continued to fight for various illegal armed groups or terrorist organisations (at the same time). For the majority of other White Helmets (staffers), working for the organisation had nothing to do with serving their communities: it was the only way they could avoid starvation for themselves and their families.5

“In addition, working for the organisation offered a certain level of protection by armed groups that defended the White Helmets. Terrorist and armed groups would usually let cars and people carrying White Helmets passes through without stopping or checking them. In most cases, the same armed groups ran background checks on new members.

“One witness said that he tried to get a job at one of the branches of the White Helmets but was told that he needed a reference from the sharia council of Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliate. Through this procedure, employees of the White Helmets were granted the status of trusted agents that ensured additional protection from other fighters.6

“Muhamed Bashir Berim, 23, of Aleppo: “I worked at a textile plant when the militants seized eastern Aleppo. The plants stopped working and so I had little choice, just like everyone else. A field commander from Jabhat al-Nusra said we must join them. I refused, and they threw me in prison, where I was humiliated, beaten up and starved. You can still see the signs of beating on my body. They gave me 15 days to choose between joining al-Nusra or the White Helmets. The third option was death. I have an old father, an ailing mother and two younger brothers, so I decided to join them. They let me out. My family was starving. After I joined the White Helmets, I received a box with humanitarian aid and $100 every month. The aid included sugar, vegetable oil, buckwheat or other cereals and lentils, everything we needed to survive. It was what my family needed. Most people at my centre opted to work for the White Helmets rather than to fight on the ground… The boss was a man with the codename Abu al-Sheih, who issued instructions before our missions. He never disclosed his real name. He is from the Aleppo Province. He never talked about himself or his family. He mistrusted and mistreated me, threatening me with his gun.

“Abu al-Sheih was from Jabhat al-Nusra and had two assignments: manage our White Helmets centre and take part in fighting.

“He was sometimes away for 15 or 20 days. The only thing that interested him was money. The others never told us their real names either. The drivers were known as Abu Ahmad, Abu Hussein, Abu Yasir, Abu al-Bara and Abu al-Mutassim. Abu al-Sheih said he would kill us for refusing to drive to the frontline to bring back the fighters who had been wounded in battles against the Syrian army. We said we couldn’t do this because we were afraid. He threatened us with weapons. 7

“Aleppo resident (and small business owner) Omar al-Mustafa ibn Mohamed, 41, gave an example of White Helmets employees attending military training courses that were overseen by al-Nusra at a special camp and included physical training, shooting and schooling in explosives. Just like with military units, radio communication between groups was enciphered while the coding systems regularly changed… 8

He added that:

“All the heads of centres appointed to this position took a special Turkey-led training course in the town of Al’atarib, Idlib Province. White Helmet’s co-founder, Raed Saleh, was in charge of it. “

“We had special training and combat training. A few years ago I attended a graduation ceremony at such a course in Al’atarib. I was taken along by the head of the Om Alkarameel centre. But the White Helmets employees also underwent military training in the area of the grain depot outside the town of Saraqib. They were proud to take this training and told me about it when they were buying goods. It was a closed training course. The grain depot was controlled by al-Nusra at that time. They spent a month there, and they had enhanced physical training courses, rope climbing and a firing range…

“Darwish Ibrahim specialised in electronic circuit boards and took a corresponding course. He was a White Helmets employee and an al-Nusra fighter. He said they studied land mine laying. But after completing the course, he became responsible for electronics at three centres, namely, Tal Aldaman, Om Alkarameelp and Alsamiria.”

The course organisers asked who had served in the army as an engineer or as a mine picker. Darwish took a mine collection course. Those who passed this course were White Helmets employees, but they underwent t(he training) at an al-Nusra camp.9

“Yasir al-Mohamed, 44, of Aleppo stated that “In Aleppo, militants put strong pressure on my father, because my brothers serve in the government army. I came to pick up my parents from Aleppo and take them to Homs. The militants killed my father in front of me. Yasser Abdullah Almushrif shot him. The White Helmets came to pick up his body. One of them shot me in the leg. We never saw my father’s body again. My mother is sure that they take bodies away to remove organs.

“Hatem Uyn, 31, a former internal security officer at Jaysh al-Islam stated that Jaysh al-Islam and the White Helmets used encrypted language to denote areas of the city and locations. For example, there were about 80 locations with numbers in Douma. The encryption changed every two months. It was developed by the deputy head of internal security at Jaysh al-Islam, whose name was Omar Aldirani Abu Qusay.

“Ali Mohamed al-Mardini, 28, a former Jaysh al-Islam member in Damascus claims that Jaysh al-Islam was in charge of the White Helmets’ security. “We defended their centres and the premises in which they worked. They were escorted by a special guard unit from Jaysh al-Islam. It was part of the 27th battalion, which was responsible for the security of high-ranking Jaysh al-Islam officers. This battalion provided escort patrols that came to the White Helmets centre to escort them to their job sites. We maintained constant contact over the radio.” 10

Part two of the report is headed: White Helmets Centres — Units of Terrorist Organisations and Illegal Armed Groups.

The citations below can all be found in the report at the locations footnoted. This section of the report begins by making a useful claim in the round. The witnesses who gave their evidence below were all identified by their portrait photographs, ages and places of origin as well as their jobs. I have only amended the English and edited it down. The original full-length versions can be seen in the report as footnoted:

“Former militants and Syrian eyewitnesses have given detailed descriptions of facts that lead to an unequivocal conclusion about the character of the relations between the White Helmets centres, and the illegal armed groups and terrorist organisations that controlled the territories in which these centres were located.

“Extensive evidence illustrating the fact that the White Helmets centres did not simply obey the terrorist and illegal armed groups in all aspects of their activities but actually constituted their units, permanently providing engineering support for the combat positions of the militants, as well as their food and medical support. In some cases, they even conducted site reconnaissance of the Syrian Army positions and delivered weapons across the border. 11

“For example, White Helmets employee, Nur al-Din Kamal Yahya said his centre was subordinate to Feilak al-Rahman, while a neighbouring centre in Harasta (was under the control of) Fajr al-Ummah, and the centre in Arbin (subordinate) to Jabhat al-Nusra.

“Former employee of the Jaysh al-Islam internal security service, Hatem Uyn, confirmed that the White Helmets operating on the territory controlled by Jaysh al-Islam were fully subordinate to them. He said written orders from their leaders were delivered to the White Helmets centre, fully controlling the membership of the centre.

“An Attorney (lawyer) from Douma, Mohamed al-Naasan, also confirmed that Jaysh al-Islam was in full control of the activities of the White Helmets in the city.12

“On another occasion, White Helmets centres were ordered to submit lists of all employees to the internal security service of Jaysh al-Islam. If the internal security service had any questions about an employee, they were immediately dismissed from the White Helmets.

“When there was insufficient time, I sent instructions over the telephone. If there was enough time, I delivered an official paper with Jaysh al-Islam’s letterhead and with the signature of the head of the Jaysh al-Islam internal security service in Eastern Ghouta, Bashir Sheih al-Deya Abu Abdulla, who gave me such papers personally. Usually, I handed these orders to Mohamed Masarwi Abu Salyam — head of the White Helmets centre and he passed them to the leadership of the other centres throughout Eastern Ghouta. Mohamed Masarwi was also an emir in Jaysh al-Islam. The White Helmets were fully subordinate to Jaysh al-Islam on the territories under its control.”

“In the well-known promotional film extolling the deeds of the the White Helmets, Mohammed Farah averred that before joining the White Helmets he was a member of an armed unit and fought in the opposition’s ranks for three months. However, the film fails to mention that the militants went to work in the White Helmets centres located in the territory controlled by their former armed group and that they stayed in contact with it.13

“Omar al-Mustafa ibn Mohamed, of Aleppo (who is also cited above in Section 1 of the original report on military training) said “Almost all the people who served in the White Helmets were al-Nusra militants or had connections with them. I personally tried to get a job with (the White Helmets), but I was told that if I was not a fighter and had never served with al-Nusra, they could not give me a job. Everyone who came to the White Helmets had a document certified by the Sharia Committee of al-Nusra. Members of the White Helmets and militants frequently visited my shop, and one of the customers was a White Helmets centre chief. His name was Abdu Moti Turki al-Ubeidi and he headed a branch in Tal Aldaman, and was also an emir with al-Nusra. I had a low income, so I asked him to get me a job with the White Helmets. Abdu Moti told me to provide documents, and after a certain time a resolution came stating that they had refused me.

The documents had to include a recommendation of the al-Nusra Sharia Committee. I contacted Abdu Moti’s boss, whose name was Munir Mustafa, and who headed the headquarters in that place, and I filed documents with their headquarters for the western province of Aleppo. I spoke with him in person. To get a recommendation from the al-Nusra Sharia Committee, you had to be a fighter. Omar Salmo from Ahrar al-Sham was in charge of the White Helmets throughout the province and anyone who approached him with an al-Nusra recommendation could get a job (there) immediately. Without one, it was impossible.14

“Many White Helmet employees were involved in hostilities when the situation intensified. Some took part in assaults. For example, Mohamed Ali Karim al-Omar was a rescue worker, but he took part in hostilities whenever it was necessary. Ahmed Mohamed Ali Humesh took part in combat operations. They were involved in hostilities between the Al-Hadher and Khanaser communities. They took off their White Helmet uniforms and donned their own gear.

“Husein Mohamed Nur Humesh nicknamed Abu Muaviyah Sharia was an ISIS emir. After a conflict flared up between Ahrar al-Sham and al-Nusra in this district, the above-mentioned White Helmets members moved towards the eastern sector of Aleppo province and joined ISIS.

“Al-Nusra had a plan to block Aleppo in cooperation with ISIS. To achieve this, they wanted to block the “road of life.” Al-Nusra advanced from the southern sector of Aleppo province, and ISIS, from the eastern sector. Al-Nusra managed to score certain victories and to overrun several positions. As a result, Abu Muaviyah received support from ISIS, namely, ten militants from the Turkistan Islamic Party. (My note, TIP or ETIP comprised of Islamist ethnic Turkic Uyghurs from Jin Xiang in China)). A quarrel arose with al-Nusra during the distribution of trophies. As a result, he left the governorate’s southern sector and, with a group of Turkistan (Uyghur) militants, joined ISIS in its eastern sector. The above-mentioned Mohamed Ali Karim al-Omar and Ahmed Mohamed Ali Humesh worked with the White Helmets. They are cousins of Husein Mohamed Nur Humesh. Abu Muaviyah from ISIS sought help from his cousins in various attacks especially when there were plans to block the “road of life” to Aleppo (in the direction of Khanaser). Some White Helmet members carried weapons, including pistols and assault rifles. They were escorted by al-Nusra militants. While shelling was being carried out in any area, al-Nusra surrounded it and allowed White Helmets members to operate there alone.”15

See, for example, here, a screenshot of White Helmets member, Khaled Mustafa’s page on Facebook where he posted propaganda material of Jabhat al-Nusra.

Many other screenshots are shown throughout the report, and all could be verified unless the Facebook pages had since been deleted.

Abdulkarim Said Ahmad, 23, a White Helmets employee in Kafr Batna said, “ I recall Alya al-Din al-Hafi , a White Helmets employee who worked for Jabhat al-Nusra, and who was a militant. He had weapons, including a pistol and an assault rifle, and he was on duty at our positions.” 16

On White Helmets’ finance being routed to militants

Bassam Az ad-Din Hadi al-Najib, an opposition journalist who worked with the White Helmets said “Overall, it can be stated that some 60 to 65 percent of the money allocated for the White Helmets was spent on financing illegal armed groups. This money was intended as a monthly salary for the employees who were in fact militants, or to cover technical expenses such as diesel fuel for the White Helmets. The armed groups bought it at 50 cents per litre and sold it to the White Helmets for $8. Each group specialised in a specific sector. For example, Jabhat al-Nusra supplied electrical appliances, Fajr al-Umma Brigade in Harasta supplied diesel fuel; Jaysh al-Islam specialised in supplying other necessities. This is how the militants managed to obtain millions of litres at 50 cents each and sold the fuel to the White Helmets for $8 per litre. If we needed tyres for vehicles they would sell them to the White Helmets for $300 to $400 while a tyre cost only $50 in Damascus; Jaysh al-Islam would earn the margin. A large amount of the money allocated for the White Helmets was spent on financing the armed groups under specific projects. For example, it was spent on reinforcing and fortifying the militants’ defence positions before a Syrian army offensive. The White Helmets was allocated almost $800,000 on digging a flooded ditch to stop the Syrian Arab Army offensive. The groups had their representatives in the White Helmets centres. These groups needed money to pay their subordinates. They would assess the amount required for the centre’s operation and take the remaining funds. The centres operated under their control. The money allocated for a water pump in Harasta ($65,000) was taken by Fajr al-Umma Brigade to finance the battle to liberate its mechanised command. Both the senior officials and sponsors of the White Helmets were aware of that. Nobody even tried to hide it.”17

Bashar Kuteifani, former Jaysh al-Islam member said: “…There was a man called Tariq Dogmush (My note, a Turkish name spelled Doğmuş meaning ‘born’) in the White Helmets centre; he would come to us to resolve financial matters. Then he was replaced by Mohamed Baghdadi. After Mohamed Baghdadi it was Mohamed Masarwi Abu Salyam. I worked with each of them on the order from Nuuman al-Ajwa. We met about once a week…”

“Similarly, White Helmets centres were in charge of ensuring water supply for terrorist and illegal armed groups. Abd Al-Jabar Bodaka, a White Helmets employee from Aleppo, provided concrete addresses where fighters were located, saying that together with other employees of the organisation he used to load water into vehicles at the water tower and deliver it to the deployment areas of fighters and the homes of their commanders.”18

At this point, a screenshot is shown of a White Helmets member, Faisal Ruslan, who posted photos of propaganda materials glorifying suicide bombers and content from the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorist group, the rebranded version of al-Nusra, on Facebook.

Engineering and logistical support, food and water to militants

Multiple examples of the jihadists’ propaganda provided proof that the White Helmets were “routinely involved in providing support for terrorist and illegal armed groups including in terms of engineering. They used bulldozers provided by the United States through USAID for strengthening the positions of terrorist and illegal armed groups. It is important to note that they did not seek to conceal in any way (these) activities related to providing engineering support or delivering supplies to these groups. … 19 The White Helmets helped armed groups open roads, while blocking them and building earth ramparts to hinder the advance of the Syrian army.”

Omar al-Mustafa ibn Mohamed, who the document had cited earlier went on to say how “The White Helmets handled all matters related to food and water supply to the fighters on the frontlines…

Bassam Az ad-Din Hadi al-Najib, an opposition journalist who worked with the White Helmets cited earlier added that “The White Helmets equipped an opposition stronghold against the Syrian Army. The main barrier used was a water- filled moat, four metres wide and 30–35 kilometres long, stretching from Beit Naim to Maida. It was constructed by the White Helmets. With my own eyes, I saw the equipment, bearing the logos of the White Helmets, being used to fortify the militants’ positions, both bulldozers and personnel. You can ask any other civilian — everyone saw them at work. I personally witnessed the White Helmets’ vehicles blocking the main roads before the Syrian Army offensive and how defensive earth ramparts were built in Al–Marj, Otaya and other districts. When Jaysh al-Islam and other groups planned to attack the Syrian Army in Harasta, where an armoured vehicle command was deployed, the White Helmets helped those groups by opening the roads.”

Abdul Karim Said Ahmed, 23, a White Helmets employee in Kafr Batna said,”I worked as a photographer in the White Helmets centre, No.215, in Kafr Batna. The leaders there were Bahjat Dogmush (Doğmuş )and Yasin Dogmush (Doğmuş). The latter is a co-founder of the White Helmets. A four-storey residential building was used to accommodate the centre. We had 35 employees, three ambulances, two fire engines, two bulldozers and two cranes. We helped militants to organise positions in Al Mohammediyah. We erected defensive earth ramparts and also dug tunnels. We delivered diesel fuel to the Ahrar al-Sham fighters. We delivered it in evacuation vehicles which had a special tank installed. 20

Abd Al-Jabar Bodaka, 44, a White Helmets employee in Aleppo said “We filled tanks with water from a water tower and carried it to the militants’ positions and their leaders’ homes. I drove a special fire engine. We transported water to the leaders’ private residences in Bab al-Nairab, Bab al-Hadid and Al-Maadi. We also brought water to Hael Shallami, the leader in the northern regions. I also got an order from the so-called Bibars Mashaala, the head of the White Helmets centre in Bab al-Nairab, to deliver water to fill the tanks on the roof of the main communications centre of the illegal armed groups in Aleppo. 21

The White Helmets also “systematically provided food to members of the terrorist and illegal armed groups. Meanwhile, they deliberately refused to help those whose relatives were loyal to the Syrian government. Besides (which), the White Helmets also provided material help to the families of militants who had been killed…”22

“Said Ibrahim al-Masri, 27, a White Helmets employee said “We helped families of the militants who had been killed, giving them $500 every three months. The funds were coming from Great Britain.“ 23

Refusing to help or rescue families that supported the government

Khalid Farah, a White Helmets member, says in the Oscarwinning film The White Helmets, “Whenever I’m on a rescue, I try as hard as possible to save every person under the rubble[…]. I consider them all to be my family.”

But Syrian witnesses prove this statement to be a lie. In reality, the White Helmets only helped the injured if they shared their ideology opposing the Syrian government. Often, the organisation’s personnel would restrict themselves to filming, then depart without helping the victims. Thus, Mohamed Said Houri ben Mohamed Barakat from Aleppo reports that after a strike on civilians by Jabhat al-Nusra, the White Helmets arrived but “did not help anyone, did not save anybody, they took gold and money from the people,” while Zakaria Mustafa from Aleppo says that:

“The organisation never gave humanitarian aid to the residents living in their neighbourhood because their views on the Syrian government differed from those accepted by the White Helmets which prescribed standing up to the official authorities.” 24

“Zakaria Mustafa, 42, a salesman said: “A shell hit my cousin, Mustafa Hasan’s house in (the) Sheikh Khader district. The house collapsed, and ten minutes afterwards the White Helmets arrived. After they came to the site and learnt that his son was in the Syrian army, they refused to help him and went away. Most of the residents in our street were accused of being loyal to the authorities, and such people were never given humanitarian aid. It was Omar Sheikhu’s prerogative. He was with the White Helmets and also a sniper at the Al Ala’a al-Hadrami mosque.

“Ordinary residents were sometimes given a low-cost package with rice, buckwheat, lentils, and cereals, whereas militants’ families were handed boxes which also contained jam, butter, sunflower oil, (and) various tinned foods. The boxes had a Red Cross (on them). When the militants were totally encircled, ordinary people were not given anything at all, only the militants were provided with food. And when the government troops entered the district they found warehouses full of various foods while the people were suffering.

“Another witness, Aiman al-Haj Omar ibn Ibrahim, testified that when “under fire, the White Helmets would rush to save the militants and were not in a hurry to help civilians. I saw this when my neighbourhood was being shelled.” In fact, the White Helmets centres provided primary medical assistance on a regular basis to the various illegal armed units and terrorist groups.”25

Ahmed al-Haj Omar, a native of Aleppo, 40, and a former mobile phone shop owne said, “ I started working with the White Helmets in June 2016. I was introduced to them by Mohammed Hilial, who was already working for them. He was an ambulance driver. I worked as an assistant driver and evacuated people from field hospitals to Turkey using Syrian Civil Defence vehicles. Our escort included people such as Abu Omar, Abu Hanifa and Abu Mu’tasim. They accompanied us during the evacuation of wounded militants to Turkey and paid us money. These are all code names. I made eight such trips. Usually, we took one man and one escort. The White Helmets always gave priority to the militants. Occasionally, they would evacuate civilians as well. However, their focus was on the militants, not civilians. I was paid $200 dollars per trip, and once, when we transported one of the main (top) militants, who was in serious condition, they paid me $400. I don’t know what his real name was. His code name was El Sheikh. Most often, we picked them up at the field hospital in the Sakhur district and Albayan Hospital in the al-Shaar district. “26

Staging victims of attack and attacks themselves

Ahmed Buweidani, 24, a White Helmets employee from the centre in Douma said, “ When Jaysh al-Islam militants participated in hostilities, they were ordered to take off their military uniforms so that they (would) look like civilians when they were getting medical help. They were (then) filmed. Even when the militants wore military uniform, they immediately changed clothes when we came. One of our men always carried around a camera. It is not a secret that the White Helmets centres were almost always located in close proximity to the headquarters of the terrorist and illegal armed groups. In a number of cases, they were located in a building right next door. For example, Mohamed Rajih and Mohammed al-Mustafa bin Hassoun from Aleppo say the White Helmets centre was located on the other side of the wall of the premises that housed Jabhat al-Nusra in a building which they used as a prison. Another of the organisation’s centres was located close to Mohammed Saif Mahmoud school, where militants were stationed. In the town of Douma, special tunnels several hundred metres long were dug between the White Helmets centres and the militants’ headquarters so that they could quietly move between them.”27

Mohamed Rajih ibn Hasan, 49, a muezzin at the Al–Tuabin Mosque, in the Tell Sahur District of Aleppo said, “School books were stored across from the White Helmets centre on the other side (of) the schoolyard wall which was used by al-Nusra as a mortar pit to shell our city, and shells fell on our neighbourhoods. The militants burned the books, and turned the storage site into a prison where people were beaten up. The White Helmets were aware of this and provided assistance to al-Nusra. It is well known that the White Helmets enjoyed full freedom of operation and movement in the areas controlled by terrorist and illegal armed groups. Vehicles marked as White Helmets (vehicles) were never stopped for searches, and its employees had special papers giving them the right of free passage. 28

Ali Mohamed al-Mardini, 28, a former Jaysh al-Islam member said, “I joined Jaysh al-Islam. We were based in Douma, in the Al-Daria neighbourhood. The Jaysh al-Islam security unit led by Abu Safian—his real name is Saadu Al-Ghazzawi— maintained very close relations with the White Helmets’ information service. Saadu Al-Ghazzawi was responsible for the battalion that was involved in killing the enemies of Jaysh al-Islam in Eastern Ghouta. When he received orders to take out some of the militants from al-Nusra or Feilak al-Rahman, he and his men would put the White Helmets uniform on and use a White Helmets minibus. People at the organisation knew about this quite well. “29

Ahmed al-Haj Omar, 40, of Aleppo, a former mobile phone shop owner cited from earlier added, “I assisted drivers working for the White Helmets, who used Syrian Civil Defence vehicles to evacuate people from field hospitals to Turkey. Militants were given priority. We used these vehicles to bring back weapons and ammunition from Turkey. We drove via the Bab al-Salyma border crossing. The vehicles were loaded in Turkey on the outskirts of the city of Azaz.” 30

At page 95 of the report a photograph is included of white Helmets employees in uniform posing on top of the dead bodies of Syrian army soldiers being transported in an open back truck.

Speaking on March 16, 2017, Abu Jaber, one of the leaders of the al-Jolani-led coalition, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) (that now run Syria), had announced, “A message of thanks and gratitude to the hidden soldiers of our revolution. At the top of the list are the parents of the martyrs and the men of the White Helmets.”

Abu Jaber had fought on the side of al-Qaeda in Iraq between 2003-2005. 31 A screenshot was provided.32

Fake News and Staged Images (My note: including the simulated chemical weapons attacks)

In this section of the report, the researchers reported how, ”White Helmets employees say that special units and groups were set up to produce fake news, staging Syrian shelling or bombings. For example, Abd Al-Jabar Bodaka of the White Helmets says that the White Helmets in Aleppo had a special group that went to the filming location in advance to prepare the site— they brought the dead and wounded from hospitals, lit tyres and rubbish, (and) quadcopter drones were used for filming.”

Abdul Karim Said Ahmed of the White Helmets in Kafr Batna also reported that “the White Helmets had a special crew of 20 people for making such videos.

White Helmets member, Suleiman Mohamed Darwish, says that the Eastern Ghouta White Helmets headquarters requested that such fake information be provided every other day, and they had a special information office in their centre for making fake materials headed by Abdulkarim al-Hafi , a Jabhat al-Nusra militant.33

Mahmud Buweidani of the White Helmets held the photo of himself published in Time and explained: “We staged a chlorine attack by the Syrian army but there was no gas in reality. I was told to sit down and put on an oxygen mask. The oxygen tank was not actually on.”34

Mohamed Said Hyri attested that in one specific case Jabhat al-Nusra opened fire at a group of people who tried to use the corridor to reach the government-controlled areas and the consequences of that attack were presented by the White Helmets as a strike by the Syrian army.35

White Helmets members said that staging chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian army was an important aspect of the organisation’s activity. Heads of the White Helmets’ centres did not hide from their employees that these operations benefited from separate funding, and sometimes those who took part in these staged incidents were paid.

People from areas where chemical attacks were allegedly carried out provided detailed accounts of how these incidents were staged. For example, Omar Mustafa ibn Mohammed said that he saw with his own eyes how White Helmets simulated chemical weapons attacks: “They would bring in children, lay them on the floor and simulate a chemical attack, put on gas masks, push civilians aside and spray corpses with water. In fact, these were not corpses. These were children posing as chemical attack victims.”36

Mohamed Darwish, 35, a White Helmets employee in Saqba said, “We had a communications room in our centre that was specifically designed to produce fakes of this kind. It was headed by Abdulkarim Al Hafi , a Jabhat al-Nusra fighter. I saw him holding arms. We knew that the information coming from him was fabricated. The White Helmets spread lies on quite a few occasions. They would announce online that a specific district was shelled, but nothing actually happened. We were at the centre and never heard of any shelling, and we never went to the site. Still, we could read in the news that the incident took place. The headquarters of the White Helmets for Eastern Ghouta requested a fake report every two days. Sometimes these shelling incidents had to be staged in order to get fuel. They could not use their cars without shelling incidents, so they just made them up…”

Mohamed Said Hyri, of Aleppo, 45, a truck driver said, “ I live in the Jub al-Quba area and I saw what happened at a distance of 100 metres from my house. People wanted to go through the corridor in the Tariq al-Bab district to the government-controlled territory. But Jabhat al-Nusra militants said they could not go and were to return to their neighbourhoods; they refused, and the militants fired on the crowd with mortars. At six in the morning we heard explosions. I ran to the scene with other local people. We saw many dead. It happened in the Jub al-Quba area, 100 metres from my house. The White Helmets arrived at the scene at seven o’clock. They did not help anyone, did not save anyone, but took gold and money from the people. When they arrived, they pushed us away, telling us to let them work. We saw one come up to a woman and pick up her cell phone. He then took her ring, tore out her earrings, and left. After that, the locals took the dead away in a small truck.”37

A screenshot is shown at this point of the report from a White Helmets propaganda video in which a Jabhat al-Nusra strike that hit these civilians in Jub al-Quba while trying to get through the humanitarian corridor was depicted as the strike by the Syrian army.

White Helmets employee Abd Al-Jabar Bodaka, further exposed the organisation and spoke about how he personally took part in the filming of a fake video scene, showing the place where they put dead bodies from the morgue to set the scene: “I received an order on the radio to go to Jisr al-Haj. There were destroyed vehicles around the place; the militants set fire to waste and brought dead bodies from the morgue and wounded people from the hospital to arrange the scene. All this was filmed; it was a dramatisation. A couple of days later everyone who took part in the shoot received $50 in compensation.”38

Zakaria Mustafa, 42, a salesman in Aleppo cited from earlier said how, “ Once in Aleppo, in the Sakhur district, in Duar Nafura, I saw the White Helmets together with the leader of Harkat Noor ad-Din az-Zenki for our district, Ali Hisham Farhudi, and Omar Sheihu organise a staged incident. They gathered a lot of children, and lots of tyres which they started to set on fire. There were fire trucks standing nearby, and they started putting out the fire as though there had been a major attack, hauling away some people pretending that they were wounded, and also pretended that some people had been killed. It lasted for half an hour, and after that the children stood up and received their payment. It was all staged by the White Helmets together with Harkat Noor ad-Din az-Zenki. I stood by a tree and watched it: I work nearby, and I could see it with my own eyes.”39

On February 13, 2019, BBC Syria producer, Riam Dalati ,tweeted: “After almost 6 months of investigations, I can prove without a doubt that the Douma Hospital scene was staged.” The White Helmets posted this production on Twitter captioned “Another video showing cases of suffocation among civilians, mostly children and women, following the chemical attack against the civilians in Douma city.”

Screenshots from the Mannequin Challenge video

“In the video, the camera pans around motionless White Helmets employees who start moving at the end, while an alleged victim with traces of paint on his face starts making pained noises. The next photo shows the unharmed victim, who proved to be a militant from… the Free Syrian Army. This is how many other videos which the White Helmets claimed were real were made…”

“Seif al-Din Hubiya, a doctor from the hospital in Douma, confirmed this statement: “I saw a family brought by the White Helmets saying that they were victims of a chemical attack. These people didn’t have any signs of chemical poisoning.”40

The Permanent Missions of Russia and Syria to the OPCW organised a briefing for OPCW members on the alleged chemical attack on Douma of April 7 (2018) where the alleged victims of the staged video exposed the organisers and said what really happened…41

Omran Makia, 21, a White Helmets employee in Douma said, “ I was at the White Helmets centre. There I met our bosses, who said we had to go outside to have our photos taken against the background of an alleged artillery strike by the Syrian army. We disembarked on Al-Garan Square. I saw a woman with a child and asked her: “Will you please let us use your child for two minutes?” They took the child from his mother and gave him to me to take a photo. They staged a scene of the child being wounded and receiving medical aid, took a photo of this scene and said that the child was wounded. There were many stories like this. Once, when I was an ambulance driver, the White Helmets took a photo of a man with an amputated leg and said he had been wounded in shelling by the Syrian army. White Helmets took photos of sick people, and there were many of them. People would ask: “Why? We haven’t been wounded, we’ve just had surgery.” The answer was they would be given money or food and they agreed. There were cases when they found several women who had given birth to stillborn children, brought them together, took photos of them and said that children were killed in strikes by the Syrian army or died from starvation because they lived under siege….

Here a staged photo of Omran Makia, a White Helmets employee in Douma, is shown holding a child that he supposedly ‘rescued’ after being wounded in shelling by the Syrian army. The photo was distributed by the White Helmets. 42

“Mahmud al-Mohamed, 45, a small business owner in Aleppo said, “ The 16th Division of the Free Syrian Army under the command of Hoyani, the Sultan Murad brigade, and the Sultan Mohamed al-Fatih brigade were for some time deployed in our Hulluk district in Aleppo. Later the White Helmets came. Before they arrived, they first visited the militants’ headquarters where guards were dispatched to accompany them. I once watched two civil defence vehicles guarded by eight to ten militants with machine-guns from the Sultan Murad brigade drive up to the Al Zawi Mosque. There were people dying in the rubble of buildings. The scene was being filmed but White Helmets did nothing to rescue the people, leaving eight of them to die in the rubble of the building. This sparked a conflict with (the) locals, who could not understand why rescue work was delayed.”43

Nihad Damerji ibn Mohamed, 57, a construction worker in Aleppo said, “ The White Helmets arranged a staged attack on Al-Wadi Street, I can show you the place. You can find many witnesses living in the area. The day before the event people from the organisation came and said that the Syrian government would use chemical weapons in that area. They prepared fire engines, brought a water tank, media people, and came (there) on the following day. They released some liquid with a sharp smell but not real chlorine, since they worked without gloves and gas masks, and started pouring water on the people and recording it. Then they recorded the evacuation, also in the presence of reporters and photographers. The participants in the event were paid 1,500–2,000 Syrian pounds depending on their age. Most of the participants were militants’ relatives. Three or four video cameras were used.”44

Mohamed al-Mustafa ibn Hassun, 48, salesman in Aleppo, said, “The White Helmets always spread information that the authorities used chemical agents. It was wrong — in fact, we, the people living in the area never heard of a child suffering from a chemical attack. Since I work in a grocery store, a lot of people come to me and I heard a lot from them. I heard conversations between people who worked for the White Helmets and people who worked with the militants.

“They told each other that they got US support, they spoke about Mustafa al-Bataihi who gathered people to stage events for money. Mustafa al-Bataihi agreed with someone to make those recordings. He got money and his task was to bring children together and organise the staging. 45

The ‘red line’ fiction: The US, UK and France wage war in Syria

In April 2018, the White Helmets recorded the notorious video about the alleged chemical attack in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, following which they spread the fake news that several hundred people were injured. Despite evidence that the alleged victims recorded in the video were not injured and there was no chemical attack, on April 14, 2018, the United States, Great Britain and France used this fake material to justify massive missile strikes on Syria.46

“Said Ibrahim al-Masri, 27, a White Helmets employee, said, “ There were cases when terrorists and illegal armed groups fought with each other and opened fire. Mortar shells hit buildings and people. The White Helmets concealed that and claimed that it was an attack by the Syrian army. I saw it myself. This happened in Hazza, Zamalka, Beit Sawa and Aftaris. Once there was a fire at a medication storage facility. The fire was caused by faulty wiring. They said it was caused by a bomb. Another group owned an explosives factory. There was an explosion that occurred because of an error but they said that the Syrian troops bombed the place causing the fire.”47

Zakaria Mustafa, cited earlier said, “ My uncle’s house was not far from mine. Once a shell landed near his house. There was a lot of damage. The White Helmets arrived and started filming. I came over there and saw that instead of helping people they were filming. I told them: “This is our street. You have no business here.” All the more so because the shell was fired by militants.

“People were saying that Jabhat al-Nusra arrested a militant from another group. There was a conflict and eventually they opened fire. A shell landed in the courtyard. I told the White Helmets to get out of there and they used the radio to call the militants. A militant named Hasan Djader, arrested me. They beat me up really badly and detained me for four or five hours. Then they told me: “Shut up or if you don’t like it, go to the regime’s territory.” Everybody suffered pretty badly in that area.48

Organ harvesting for the treatment of militants

Testimony was provided to the researchers of this report by many relatives of victims including by Amal Amino, the mother of a boy whose organs were harvested.

“Particularly common were stories where human organ harvesting involved people evacuated by the White Helmets from Aleppo to Turkey. Ahmad Keddo, Jamal Hamwi and Khairat ad-Din Sadur in Aleppo tell the stories of how they received the bodies of their brother, son-in-law and cousin (respectively) without (their) internal organs after their evacuation by the White Helmets. Often, employees of the White Helmets would refuse to return the bodies of people whom they had evacuated alive to the relatives. They frequently insisted that the relatives should not examine these bodies below the neck. Witnesses spoke about a tent in the Omar Bin Abdul Aziz hospital in Aleppo, where bodies were kept with their organs extracted.

“The fact that there was a criminal organ harvesting scheme involving the White Helmets’ centres was widely recognised among the residents of areas where their centres were located. Оmar Al Mustafa ibn Mohammed says that because of the organ extraction practice, “people were scared, they did not dare to call the White Helmets and ask for help.”

“After such districts were liberated from the militants, there was an abnormally large number of patients who needed immediate surgery. When asked why they had not gone to the hospital before, they replied that they knew many people who had turned for medical help to the White Helmets and “came back only as corpses.”

“Syrian witnesses also spoke about an abnormally high level of kidnapped people, especially children, in the areas controlled by the militants. Abdul Razak Na’asan bin Mohammed, former member of the Ahrar al-Sham group in Aleppo, says that his commanding officer from the Shadi Qadiq group confirmed the rumours of the organ extraction practice and told him how it was done, in order to provide medical help to the militants.”49

Ahmed Maaruf, professor with the Faculty of Agriculture at Aleppo University said, “Many people at our university knew from their relatives that White Helmets personnel had transported injured and seriously ill local residents to hospitals, but that many bodies were returned with their internal organs missing. They said White Helmets personnel were also involved in executions, and some of them had even cut off people’s heads.”50

Abdul Razak Na’asan bin Mohammed, from Aleppo, a former member of Ahrar al-Sham, said, “ The White Helmets arrived after shelling. When the situation got worse, the wounded were evacuated to Turkey, and many dead bodies were returned with their internal organs missing. I asked the people whose injured relatives had been taken to Turkey, and they said that the bodies were brought back without some of the organs. In Ahrar al-Sham, I worked under Shadi Qadiq, codename Abu Adel al-Halabi. I asked him why the bodies are brought back with their organs removed after hospitalisation in Turkey. He said they did it on purpose to provide treatment to their fighters. So they take the kidneys and other organs from peaceful civilians and transplant them to the militants who need them. He confirmed all of this.”51

“Facts submitted by Syrian eyewitnesses prove that the real actions of the White Helmets organisation …amounted to a systemic, all-out violation of their own principles and code of conduct, and that their proclaimed striving to meet these principles was a lie…”52

A screenshot is shown from the Facebook page of Haitam Abu Abdul, a White Helmets employee who “openly publicised Abdullah al-Muhaysini, a well-known terrorist recruiter linked to al-Qaeda who was involved in establishing ties between ISIS, al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, and called for the killing of Alawites. He was designated on a sanctions list by the US Department of State for raising funds for terrorists in Syria.53

“The White Helmets made no secret of their affiliation with or sympathy for the terrorists. One photo showed the emblem of ISIS, on the wall of a White Helmets centre. The photo below it showed a White Helmets employee with the flag of the Syrian opposition (now hailed as the country’s national flag) frequently used by the Free Syrian Army.54

Sabri Hamo Kordi, 54, said “Our district was controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra. But they behaved so badly that people turned against them and expelled them from our neighbourhood. In response Jabhat al-Nusra shelled our district, and one rocket hit the Ashur Mosque, where boys and girls attended classes. The fighters came and replaced the fragments of the improvised rocket with fragments of a Syrian army missile. After that the White Helmets came in and started filming as women and children were being evacuated. While doing so, they took earrings from (the) girls, and watches and telephones from women…

“Ali Mohamed al-Mardini, 28, former Jaysh al-Islam member from Damascus said, Al-Kuatli Street in Douma was shelled by al-Nusra, and the shell hit a store offering money transfers and selling gold. There were about $60,000, 1.5 million Syrian liras and half a kilogram of gold in the store, but all this was gone after the White Helmets provided their assistance. I saw them do it…”

“Mohamed Rajih ibn Hasan, 49, a muezzin at the Al-Tuabin Mosque, Tell Sahur District in Aleppo said, “The White Helmets came to our district under the pretext of helping civilians, but in fact all they did was rob and pillage. One time they cut the hand from a woman’s corpse to take her gold bracelet. Humanitarian aid distributed by the White Helmets went primarily to members of their organisation and the families of fighters.”55

Abd Al-Jabar Bodaka, 44, cited from earlier, a White Helmets employee in Aleppo said, “ We did not put out many fires after shooting raids because we were afraid of such missions. We put out big fires approximately once a week. The fighters torched the flats and houses after robbing them, and we were called in to put out the fire”.56

Many White Helmets employees openly admitted that they also fought in illegal armed groups and posted photos of themselves holding weapons. (See images and names, at p.195).

Ali Mohamed al-Mardini, 28, a former Jaysh al-Islam member said, “When convoys with humanitarian aid reached Douma, we took 25 percent for ourselves, distributed another 25 percent among the people and sold the remaining 50 percent to the White Helmets. We received aid from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and from the government. The aid included pasta, rice, sugar, beans, carrots, lentils, tomatoes, salt and other foods. The White Helmets issued some of the aid to their employees and sold the rest on the market at sky-high prices. For example, they sold sugar for 20,000 Syrian pounds a kilo.”57

“The United States, Britain and other countries have issued over $100 million to the White Helmets, who spent the bulk of these funds on salaries for their employees, who were also members of terrorist groups and paramilitary units, and also financed the fortification of their positions.”

The Al-Nusra/ White Helmets Intersect on Education

“A video shows Mujahideen celebrating the liberation of the city that is very easy to find online. The video clearly shows White Helmets celebrating with members of Jabhat al-Nusra. One of the White Helmets is clearly waving a flag of Jabhat al-Nusra. Most of the White Helmets also shared the organisation’s radical ideology, including abandoning general education in favour of religious studies. According to evidence provided by Syrian eyewitnesses, the White Helmets had a destructive effect on Syrian education and healthcare. It was a standard practice for the White Helmets to storm schools and kindergartens. Children and students would be forced out of the buildings, while teachers were threatened with death if they continued to teach. They were ordered to send children to religious schools. It was a common practice for the organisation to seize private and public hospitals and prohibit medical staff from treating civilians. They would then be forced to provide medical services to militants only. This had a destructive effect on the healthcare system. Multiple White Helmets members and affected civilians attested that the organisation seized hundreds of properties from private owners and the Syrian government. They seized hundreds of ambulances and replaced professional doctors with people without medical training, sometimes without any education whatsoever. The White Helmets almost completely destroyed the ambulance network in the areas where they operated.58

“The White Helmets almost completely destroyed the Syrian state civil defence system in the areas where they operated, including the fire service, and then unsuccessfully attempted to replace it with non-professionals who were often hired via newspaper ads or from among former members of terrorist and illegal armed groups. 59

Screenshots are then shown from the video titled Sarmin: Mujahideen celebrating the liberation of the city. The video clearly shows White Helmets personnel there (one of them is wearing a Sarmin civil defence uniform) celebrating with terrorists as they wave flags of Jabhat al-Nusra. White Helmets member, Moawiah Hassan Agha is shown with captured Syrian soldiers. Below it, a Syrian soldier whose murder involved a White Helmets employee is shown. He posted the photo on Facebook.

Photos are captioned to show Mahmud al-Haj Omar outside his house burned by the White Helmets. He says: “The White Helmets ransacked and burned my house because I fled to the areas that were controlled by the Syrian government.”

Below it, in another photo: Mohamed Rajih ibn Hassan, the muezzin of an Aleppo mosque, recalls: “There was a White Helmets centre behind this wall. Jabhat al-Nusra’s mortar positions were here as they shelled the city. Their prison where they would beat people up was here too. The White Helmets knew about that and helped Jabhat al-Nusra militants.”60

In another photo, a female White Helmets teacher wears a niqab with her organisation’s logo, the black garment covering the entire face while leaving a small opening for the eyes…”that implies that the wearer is a strict religionist.”

“Former White Helmets members as well as affected civilians said that the organisation would often seize private clinics and public hospitals. A significant number of these hospitals stopped operating and were turned into White Helmets command centres, while the rest provided medical care exclusively to militants. Ordinary people were no longer treated there.

Zaher Batal ibn Mohammed Galib, head of the Aleppo Doctors trade union, said, “ The White Helmets seized medical centres and hospitals, and used them to treat militants. For example, the Omar Abdulaziz hospital in the al-Fardus district was a regular public hospital that provided assistance to civilians and citizens even when the area was already controlled by the militants. The White Helmets employees seized it and turned the hospital as well as the outpatient clinic located nearby into a field hospital for treating militants and militant families only. The White Helmets are less than humane. They are mercenaries who work for money. As the chairman of the trade union for doctors, I do not know of a single doctor registered in our trade union or in the Aleppo City Healthcare Department who would work for this organisation.61

Omar Bozo ibn Ali Marosh, 41, Imam at the Al-Khansa Mosque, al-Mashhad district, said “Militants from the al-Sukur al-Sham and Liwa al-Tawhid brigades came to our Ansari District. The White Helmets came later and seized a school that was at the crossroads of the al-Mashhad District. They set up their command centre there. The teachers were not even given a chance to travel to other areas. They were ordered to stop teaching and stay in the area, or they would simply be destroyed. White Helmets employees wore uniforms with an emblem that said “Civil Defence.” There were about 50 people in the school. A map was drawn on the wall, and “Civil Defence” was also written on the map. The opposition flag was hoisted nearby. All of their cars had those “Civil Defence” signs. Part of the equipment the White Helmets used was actually stolen, and some was bought. Other militants were deployed next door. It is a school complex consisting of several buildings. The White Helmets were in the first school, and the next one housed the Fastaqim Kama ‘Umirt group. A car wash nearby was the group’s command post. The militants also opened the so-called “militant court” in the district administration building.62

Ahmed Maaruf, a professor with the Faculty of Agriculture at Aleppo University said, “After the eastern districts of Aleppo were liberated from militants, I went there to see my school that I went to in my younger years. I was shocked to see that the White Helmets had had their headquarters there and had kept detainees in the basement. The White Helmets are militants and take part in hostilities and interrogation of detainees in prisons. Not only this school, but some other schools were used as White Helmets headquarters. They suspended studies there.” 63

Mohamed Rajih ibn Hasan, 49, a muezzin at the Al-Tuabin Mosque, cited from earlier says “We saw various terrorist groups come to our district — from Jabhat al-Nusra to Liwa al-Tawhid, Ahrar Sakhur and Ahrar Syria. The White Helmets headquarters was located in the Abi Zar School, the Mustafa Badaoui School and the Wafa al-Arabi School. This organisation’s logo was put on the façade of the school buildings. When the White Helmets seized these schools, they burned textbooks and school stationery. Studies were suspended. Militants’ headquarters were located next to the White Helmets headquarters. One of them that had mortar firing positions and prisons was located next door to the White Helmets headquarters. In fact, the White Helmets worked hand in hand with militants, and the mortar firing positions built next door to them were used to shell the city from time to time. 64

Omar al-Mustafa ibn Mohamed, Aleppo, cited from earlier said, “ Militants from al-Nusra joined the White Helmets if given a relevant order — the two are related structures. White Helmets received higher wages than militants, and their families were also fully provided with food, could receive free medical care, were allocated a certain amount of diesel fuel to heat their homes in winter and were given various gifts, such as TV sets and refrigerators. This was standard practice in Um al-Karamel and also in other localities in the southern province. “65

A screenshot is included of a White Helmets member, Laith Ahmed, who posted photos of propaganda materials from the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham on Facebook (the rebranded al-Nusra al-Qaeda affiliate), featuring captured soldiers from the Syrian army. 66

A screenshot from Abdu Hassan Agha’s Facebook page used to spread propaganda of Jaysh al-Fatah, the so-called Army of Conquest that mostly relied on Jabhat al-Nusra, is included at this point of the report.

…Mohamed Bashir Berim, a White Helmets employee, said that people working in his centre adhered to Jabhat al-Nusra’s ideas. Bassam Az ad-Din Hadi al-Najib, an opposition journalist who used to work with the White Helmets, said that they were radicals. Ahmed Maaruf, a professor at the Faculty of Agriculture at Aleppo University, said that most people of this kind viewed others as infidels and accepted the idea of killing them. It is for this reason that employees of the organisation had no scruples about being present during mass killings or being tasked with disposing of the corpses after executions. 67

Mohamed Bashir Berim, 23, a White Helmets employee in Aleppo said, “People working at the White Helmets centre said that they shared Jabhat al-Nusra’s ideas. They did not say anything about Western ideas. They were Salafists and prohibited smoking.”68

Bassam Az ad-Din Hadi al-Najib, 31, an opposition journalist who worked with the White Helmets said, “ I saw Jaysh al-Islam representatives execute six people in Douma. White Helmets members standing nearby disposed of the bodies.”69

“In a well-known incident, photographer, Mahmoud Raslan, who worked with the White Helmets, took a picture of a little boy named Omran Daqneesh allegedly being treated by the White Helmets; his picture went viral. Later, it turned out that Mahmoud Raslan maintained relations with the Nour al-Din al-Zenki movement and posed for a photo with its militants who had beheaded Abdullah Tayseer in 2016.70

“Aside from taking part in executions of Syrian citizens, members of the White Helmets conducted reconnaissance operations against Syrian forces, transported weapons and loaned their vehicles to illegal paramilitary units for murdering their rivals. Many White Helmets members were former and active militants who worked for the organisation and also took part in hostilities. According to Syrian eyewitnesses, members of the White Helmets seized people who were not on the side of the militants and turned them in to be executed. `

“They beat up captured Syrian service personnel and escorted them to prisons. For example, eyewitness Omar al-Alush ibn Mohamed and opposition journalist Bassam Az ad-Din Hadi al-Najib shared their experiences below…”

A screenshot is included of the profile of Muhamed Abdul Rahman, a White Helmets employee, who circulated the propaganda materials of Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the self-declared new President of Syria and former leader of Jabhat al-Nusra and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, later HTS.

“A significant number of White Helmets employees did not hide their involvement with or their sympathy for terrorist organisations and illegal armed groups. A photograph is included of the Facebook profile of White Helmets employee, Abo Monzer Kousay, who is openly posting ISIS flags on his Facebook account with an inscription: “This is our path” and (who) voices admiration for suicide bombers from Jabhat al-Nusra.71

White Helmets employee, Anmar Najar, posted photographs on his Facebook account of torture and executions of people, with an inscription: “God gave us victory.”72

Maxim Grigoriev, the report’s prominent co-author, conducted these interviews in Syria and included photographs of himself taken at key sites and with witnesses, as evidence.73

Other corroborative sources

Kevork Almassian, of Armenian origin and Syrian political commentator, the founder of Syriana Analysis emphasised the Turkish role in the White Helmets’ operations pointing out that the organisation had been funded to the tune of tens of millions of dollars annually by interested Western governments, but was based in Turkey and after Erdogan’s invasion of northern Syria, the White Helmets had accompanied the Turkish-backed Islamists against the Kurdish-led SDF forces there74, as has been widely reported elsewhere.

Jabr al-Bakr: The Berlin would-be bomber

Almassian recalled how in October 2016, Jaber Al–bakr, a Syrian radical who had infiltrated himself into Germany as a refugee had planned a major terrorist attack in Berlin. After he was detained on suspicion, his brother told German media that the suspect was actually a member of the White Helmets. He was reported to have committed suicide in custody, but the veracity of the claim was strongly disputed.75

In February 2023, before the toppling of the Syrian governmen by the al-Nusra/HTS jihadist coalition, the UK government provided addtional funding to the White helmets “to aid major search-and-rescue operations given the difficulties in accessing affected areas in north west Syria”

These areas were fully accessible to the jihadist groups that had so long been sponsored by Turkey and adopted as fronts under the White Helmets’ banner with their contacts with the Turkish-run groups. The extra money did not actually overcome any such proclaimed geographical difficulties. The border was Turkish–controlled and Turkish groups remained (and remain) present in this same area, including Afrin, alongside HTS/now jihad government security forces. The claim made by the UK was that this huge contribution meant the following:

To the White Helmets Search & Rescue Efforts

·       Increased support to provide life-saving Search and Rescue and emergency relief operations in North West Syria.

·       At least an additional £3m funding, bringing our total to £3.8m, which will enable enhanced operational capacity of the White Helmets (Syria Civil Defence)

·       This will support recovery projects including assessing building safety, reopening roads and reconnecting utilities.

·       Over 2,500 White Helmets volunteers are involved in the response across some 40 communities in northwest Syria. Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said:”The White Helmets are playing a critical and life-saving role in Syria in the most desperate circumstances following the earthquakes.”

“The UK is proud of our longstanding partnership with them. The White Helmets, throughout the conflict, have demonstrated unwavering commitment and dedication. This has included saving over 115,000 lives and providing essential services to more than four million Syrians.”

“Our collective priority now is to ensure life-saving assistance is given to those most in need. The White Helmets are best placed to deliver this in North West Syria.”

The UK is giving at least an additional £3m to aid the White Helmets major search-and-rescue operations. This takes our total funding to the White Helmets this week to £3.8m following the announcement on 7 February by Lord Ahmad. 76

On Friday 28 July 2023, I noted that if the White Helmets and MayDay Rescue were being funded to the tune of so many millions but were paying their locals a declared monthly salary of $150 – of which most people only received $50 by their own account – then the rest was being subverted as in the Foundation for the Study of Democracy’s report to help secure regime change.

The directors were also paying themselves a salary as declared to the Dutch funder of some 24,000 euros a month plus expenses, such that co-founder, the late James Le Mesurier, and his new wife, Emma, whom he employed within the company, were getting a combined monthly salary of some 48,000 euros a month. Yet it was reported publicly as also by Emma Le Mesurier that her husband had committed suicide in Istanbul over financial problems and owing to depression.

Regime change agenda achieved

Regime change was carried out in Syria, nonetheless. Abu Mohamed al-Jolani (Ahmed al-Sharaa) and his wife, Latifa al-Droubi, dressed like a peg-doll clad from head to toe in hijab, were feted in the United States, including by the notorious David Petraeus who helped destroy the infrastructure of Iraq and had previously declared al-Jolani (Golani) to be a dangerous ISIS and al-Qaeda terrorist, imposing the $10 million bounty on his bearded head in 2011.77 Now he greets him as an old friend and US ally.

1  https://ikurd.net/syria-the-wests-red-line-2023-09-22
2 The July 20, 2016, beheading of a minor said to have supported the Syrian government named Mustafa Tayser (Or according to the Palestinian representation to the UN, he was a Palestinian named Abdullah Issa. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-186952/ led the US to consider ceasing funding to this group that had also been given Tow anti-tank missiles until 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/20/syrian-opposition-group-which-killed-child-was-in-us-vetted-alliance
3 https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-56126016
4 https://washington.mid.ru/en/press-centre/news/ambassador_antonov_s_opening_remarks_at_maxim_grigoriev_s_press_conference/
5 p. 10
6 p. 10

Sheri Laizer, a Middle East and North African expert specialist and well known commentator on the Kurdish issue. She is a senior contributing writer for iKurd.net. More about Sheri Laizer see below.

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