ATAREB, Syria: A member of Syria’s volunteer White Helmets was killed in northern Syria on Tuesday by a missile fired by government forces that targeted his vehicle, rescuers and a monitor said.
The first responder was killed “while conducting inspections in areas that had been targeted by artillery shelling from regime forces,” the group posted on Twitter.
It said Abdul Basset Ahmed Abdel-Khalek “fell victim to a missile deliberately aimed at the rescue team’s car in southeast Atarib,” west of Aleppo.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria, said the volunteer was killed by a “guided missile fired by regime forces.”
More than four million people live in rebel-controlled areas of north and northwest Syria, an area hard hit by a huge earthquake in February that had its epicenter in southern Turkiye.
The Observatory said that since the beginning of the year, 243 people including 16 civilians have been killed in the region despite a cease-fire negotiated by Russia and Turkiye after a regime offensive in March 2020.
Syria’s war broke out in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
It later evolved into a complex conflict involving jihadists and foreign powers, and has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions.
Drawing on experience acquired during Syria’s war, the White Helmets rescuers were also able to help victims of the February earthquake which claimed tens of thousands of lives in Turkiye and Syria.
Syria’s White Helmets say volunteer killed by missile
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Syria’s White Helmets say volunteer killed by missile
- It said Abdul Basset Ahmed Abdel-Khalek “fell victim to a missile deliberately aimed at the rescue team’s car in southeast Atarib,” west of Aleppo
- The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the volunteer was killed by a “guided missile fired by regime forces”
Syrian authorities bust smuggling ring, tighten border controls
- Smugglers' boat collides with rocks as it attempted to flee pursuing as Coast Guard vessels
- The boat was about to illegally transport passengers from the Syrian coast of Tartus coast to Cyprus
DAMASCUS: Syrian Coast Guard forces have arrested members of a human smuggling network operating in the western town of Tartus, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported Saturday.
Authorities pounced on the smugglers as they were about to transport passengers from the Tartus coast to Cyprus by illegal means, the state media said, citing a statement from the General Authority of Ports and Customs.
"The operation resulted in the arrest of all those involved, including the organizers of the trip," said the report, adding that the smugglers' boat attempted to escape as Coast Guard vessels surrounded it, but collided with rocks.
No details were made available on how many suspects were arrested and how many passengers were rescued. Criminal charges are being prepared against the arrested suspects, SANA said.
New restrictions on commercial transit
In a separate move to regulate trade and border security, the ports and customs authority has issued a new policy restricting truck access at land crossings and seaports.
Commercial trucks will now only be permitted entry for loading or unloading upon presentation of an original receipt from the Ministry of Transport’s freight office.
The transfer of cargo between Syrian and non-Syrian vehicles must now take place strictly within designated customs yards at border crossings.
Trucks passing through Syria in transit remain permitted, provided they are under a mandatory customs escort between entry and exit points.
