Syria condemns US financial support to White Helmets

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The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the recent US decision to render financial support to the Syrian Civil Defense group, better known as "White Helmets," which is listed by Damascus as a terror group.

In a statement released by state news agency SANA, the ministry said the additional financial support by the US to the White Helmets is a flagrant evidence of the support of US-led Western countries to terrorism in Syria since 2011.

The ministry accused the US and its Western allies of using the White Helmets to carry out terrorism, particularly in the alleged chemical attacks that were staged to tarnish the image of the Syrian government and prolong the Syrian war.

The US flag flutters on a military vehicle in Manbej countryside, Syria, May 12, 2018. /Reuters Photo

It said the White Helmets are part of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

The condemnation came just days after the US administration reportedly agreed to provide fund worth 6.6 million US dollars for the White Helmets, the so-called "rescue group" by Western powers in certain rebel-held areas of Syria.

The Syrian government has long blamed the White Helmets for allying with the Nusra Front, citing evidence of the organization's attempts to falsify facts and put on a fake humanitarian face to support ultra-radical rebel groups in Syria.

(Cover: A member of US forces rides on a military vehicle in the town of Darbasiya, Syria, April 28, 2017. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency