By Laith Joneidi and Hamdi Yildiz
AMMAN (AA) – Jordan said Sunday it allowed passage to more than 400 Syrian civil defense agency members, White Helmets, reducing an earlier figure by almost half.
On Saturday, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said it had allowed the UN to organize the passage of some 800 White Helmets members for humanitarian reasons.
In a Sunday statement, foreign ministry spokesman Mohamed al-Kayed said Britain, Germany and Canada –- which made a legally binding pledge to resettle the Syrians within a specified period of time “because of a risk to their lives ” –, settled on the figure of 422 White Helmets members rather than 800.
The statement added that transfer of the civil defense volunteers to the three Western countries would be done within three months.
Al-Kayed did not disclose location of White Helmets members, but said they would remain in a closed area.
He added the Syrians were only allowed passage via Jordan due to humanitarian reasons.
– US welcomes
The U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert welcomed the evacuation of the civil defense agency members.
“We are glad that these brave volunteers, who have saved thousands of lives, are now out of harm’s way,” she said in a written statement.
Nauert went on to say: “Members of the group, more than half of which are children, were allowed entry into Jordan on a transit basis, until UNHCR completes procedures for their resettlement in third countries.”
Earlier on Sunday, White Helmets chief Riyad Salih said that the evacuation of the White Helmets members and their families were blocked by the Bashar al-Assad regime, whose forces control Syria’s border with Amman.
Last month, Syrian regime forces launched a wide-ranging military operation — supported by Russian air power – to recapture the opposition-held Daraa province, triggering a major displacement crisis, with an estimated 350,000 civilians fleeing the province towards areas near the Jordanian border.
*Sena Guler in Ankara contributed to this report
