U.S. officials say the United States is finalizing plans to evacuate several hundred Syrian civil defense workers and their families from southwest Syria as Russian-backed government forces close in on the area.
Two officials familiar with the plans said Thursday that the U.S., Britain and Canada are spearheading the evacuation that would transport members of the White Helmets group to transit camps in neighboring countries. From there, they will be sent to third countries, including Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and possibly Canada, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
In this photo released on Wednesday Feb. 21, 2018 which provided by the Syrian Civil Defense group known as the White Helmets, shows a member of the Syrian Civil Defense group, searches for victims under the rubble of a destroyed house that attacked by Syrian government forces airstrike, in Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, Syria. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
The officials, and a member of the White Helmets who is due to be evacuated from Quneitra province, said the operation appears to be imminent as the Syrian army continues to gain ground in its latest offensive. The White Helmets, who have enjoyed backing from the U.S. and other Western nations for years, are likely to be targeted by Syrian forces as they retake control of the southwest, according to the officials.
The officials said planning for the evacuation has been underway for some time but accelerated after last week's NATO summit in Brussels.
"These are hard hours and minutes," the White Helmets volunteer in Quneitra said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear for his life. "This is the worst day of my life. I hope they rescue us before it is too late."
The evacuation is expected to take place from Quneitra, which straddles the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and where the civil defense team is trapped. It is the last sliver of land still outside government control in the region.
Since the government offensive began in June, the area along the frontier with the Golan Heights has been the safest in the southwestern region, attracting hundreds of displaced people because is along the disengagement line with Israel demarcated in 1974 after a war. The Syrian government is unlikely to fire there or carry out airstrikes.
Negotiations are also ongoing to evacuate armed rebels and their families who don't want to accept the return of the rule of Bashar Assad's government to Quneitra, which the rebels have controlled for years. The fighters will be evacuated to the northern part of Syria, where the opposition still holds sway.
Except for that sliver of land, the southern tip of the southwestern region lies along the border with Jordan and the Golan Heights and is occupied by an Islamic State-affiliated group. The area is expected to be the target of the next government advances and the civil defense teams don't operate there.
The White Helmets are not without controversy. They only operate in opposition-held areas, where government services are almost non-existent and aerial bombings are recurrent. Syrian government supporters accuse them of being politically affiliated with the rebel groups. Russia and the Syrian government have repeatedly accused them of staging chemical attacks in opposition areas, a charge that has never been proven.
They have continued to receive U.S. support even as President Donald Trump presses ahead with his plans to withdraw all American forces from Syria as soon as Islamic State forces are routed.
In June, the State Department freed up a small portion — $6.6 million out of some $200 million — in frozen funding for Syria stabilization programs to keep the White Helmets operating through the end of this year.
In other parts of Syria, where government control has been restored, civil defense volunteers have almost always evacuated to other opposition-controlled areas. It is not clear why this time they will be evacuated out of the country.
MOSCOW (AP) — Nearly 12,000 houses have been flooded in a Russian region bordering Kazakhstan as water levels in the Ural River keep rising and threatening more deluge, authorities said Thursday.
The floods sparked evacuations of thousands in the Orenburg region, located some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles), southeast of the capital of Moscow after a dam on the river burst last week under the pressure of surging waters. Local authorities have declared a state of emergency in the region.
In a televised videoconference with President Vladimir Putin, Orenburg governor Denis Pasler reported that a total of 11,972 houses are flooded, as well as 16 state medical facilities. Additionally, 3,600 houses — home to some 20,000 people — are in danger of imminent flooding as water levels continue to rise.
The situation is most dire in the city of Orenburg, the administrative capital of the region, Pasler said, where the water level in the Ural River reached a historical peak of 10.87 meters (about 36 feet).
A total of 7,800 people have been evacuated from the flooded areas so far, he added. The overall damage from the floods is estimated to exceed 40 billion rubles ($428 million).
Further east along the Kazakhstan border, authorities in the regions of Kurgan and Tyumen are also preparing for possible floods as water levels rise in local rivers.
Floods have also hit Kazakhstan, where authorities have declared a state of emergency in 10 out of 17 regions of the country, according to Russia's state news agency Tass. As of Thursday, the state of emergency was still in place in eight regions, Tass reported. Since March, more than 98,000 people have been evacuated from the affected areas there.
Footage from the flooded regions in Kazakhstan showed water gushing down streets, vast fields covered with water and dozens of houses partially submerged. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called the floods “a natural disaster ... the likes of which have not been seen for many years.”
“This is, perhaps, the biggest disaster in terms of its scale and consequences in over 80 years,” he said last week.
Local residents ride their rubber boat to help in evacuations people from a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
A couple sits on stairs watching a flooded area around the Stele Europe - Asia, showing the border between Europe and Asia, in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
A man rides his rubber boat to help local residents during evacuations from a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
A man prepares to ride his rubber boat to help local residents during evacuations from a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
A woman takes a photo of a flooded area next to Ural river in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Local residents watch a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
A woman takes a photo standing behind a rubber dam at a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
A refrigerator floats in a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Local residents prepare their pony to cross a flooded area by boat in Orenburg, Russia, Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
A view of a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Two local residents are going ride a rubber boat to leave a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Local residents stay on a pedestrian bridge crossing the overflowing Ural River in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Two men ride a boat in a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Two men ride a boat as they deliver food in a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
A woman carries her pat leaving a boat in a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Two men ride a boat delivering food in a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Local residents stand at a barriers watching a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Local residents stand at barriers watching a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
Russian Emergency Situation Ministry rescuers ride a boat to help local residents during evacuations from a flooded area in Orenburg, Russia, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Russian officials are scrambling to help homeowners displaced by floods, as water levels have risen in the Ural River. The river's water level in the city of Orenburg was above 10 meters (33 feet) Wednesday, state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the regional governor. (AP Photo)
