BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:20 A.M.) - The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that the Trump administration has agreed to provide funding to the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) in Syria.
According to a press release from State Department Spokesperson, Heather Nauert, the Trump administration has agreed to award the White Helmets with $6.6 million to continue their work in Syria.
"The President has authorized the United States Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State to release approximately $6.6 million for the continuation of the vital, life-saving operations of the Syrian Civil Defense, more commonly known as the White Helmets, and the UN’s International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM)," the statement began.
Furthermore, Nauert stated that the White Helmets were an important group in Syria, claiming that they have saved 100,000 lives around the country.
"The United States Government strongly supports the White Helmets who have saved more than 100,000 lives since the conflict began, including victims of Assad’s chemical weapons attacks," she continued.
Nauert would then accuse the Syrian government and Russian military of deliberately targeting the White Helmets in Syria.
"These heroic first responders have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world and continue to be deliberately targeted by the Syrian regime and Russian airstrikes. Since 2013, more than 230 of these brave volunteers have been killed while working to save innocent Syrian civilians," she added.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/us-announces-new-funding-for-white-helmets/