The Syria Civil Defense (SCD), also known as the White Helmets, is a U.S. and UK-funded militia in Syria that has called for a U.S. invasion of Syria. It has received $70 million from the Statesian and British governments since 2014 and millions more from other NATO countries and US allies.[1] Al Qaeda leader Abu Jaber praised the SCD,[2] and the pro-al Qaeda cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini said the SCD is no different from the mujahideen.[3]
History
Former British soldier James Le Mesurier founded the SCD in Turkey in 2014.[1] The SCD celebrated al Qaeda's conquest of Idlib Province in 2015.[4] In 2018, the SCD participated in the Turkish invasion of the majority-Kurdish city of Afrin in northwest Syria.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Aaron Maté (2022-09-09). "Chain of corruption: how the White Helmets compromised OPCW investigations in Syria" The Grayzone. Archived from the original on 2022-09-26. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ↑ Thomas Joscelyn (2017-03-19). "Leader of al Qaeda’s joint venture in Syria promises to ‘escalate’ operations" Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 2017-03-30.
- ↑ @walid970721 (2016-09-30). Muhaysni talks about White Helmets Twitter. Archived from the original on 2017-11-25.
- ↑ "White Helmets collaborating with terrorists? We sort fact from fiction (Part 1)" (2018-05-10). France 24. Archived from the original on 2022-09-27.
- ↑ "Open Letter from Christian Peacemaker Teams to the White Helmets" (2018-10-06). Christian Peacemaker Teams. Archived from the original on 2022-09-22. Retrieved 2022-10-02.