Iraq News

Syria's White Helmets struggle with budget shortfall

Syria’s White Helmets said Tuesday (February 13th) that funding for its life-saving work in Syria is set to drop in 2018, AFP reported.

The group, whose 3,700 members rescue civilians trapped under rubble or caught up in fighting in Syria, faces a major budget shortfall compared with last year, vice-president Abdulrahman Almawwas told reporters in Paris.

"We have started to make the budget for 2018. The decrease is about $6 million," Almawwas said, adding that increased donations from individuals had only partly compensated for the decline.

Asked which states were the biggest donors in 2017, he named the US and Britain, but declined to identify the governments whose financial support was set to decrease.

The fall from $18 million to $12 million has led the group to delay taking on new people at a time when the Syrian regime has stepped up attacks on opposition-held areas.

The group estimates 400 civilians have been killed or injured in attacks over the last week on Eastern Ghouta, where 300 White Helmet volunteers are active.

Since the White Helmets began their work in 2013, 218 of their volunteers have died and another 500 have been injured, Almawwas said.

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