- Title: Syrian 'White Helmets' contenders for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize
- Date: 1st October 2016
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 27, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF THE SYRIAN CIVIL DEFENCE, RAED AL-SALEH, SAYING: "We have 120 volunteers with the White Helmets in the city of Aleppo today. Twelve of them have been injured and so we're trying to convene training sessions in the town of Aleppo to recruit new volunteers because of the ferocious campaign that is unprecedented in the city of Aleppo." PANEL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF THE SYRIAN CIVIL DEFENCE, RAED AL-SALEH, SAYING: "There is nowhere that Syrian civilians can hide or take cover in the city of Aleppo. They are all just basically sitting in their homes waiting to be killed and there are no solutions for these people." PANEL
- Embargoed: 16th October 2016 12:40
- Keywords: Syria white helmets Syria Civil Defence Nobel peace prize
- Location: SAID TO BE ALEPPO, BAB AL-HAWA , IDLIB AND EASTERN GHOUTA, DAMASCUS PROVINCE, SYRIA / WASHINGTON D.C, UNITED STATES
- City: SAID TO BE ALEPPO, BAB AL-HAWA , IDLIB AND EASTERN GHOUTA, DAMASCUS PROVINCE, SYRIA / WASHINGTON D.C, UNITED STATES
- Country: Syria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA004526VOLJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC MATERIAL
Members of the Syrian Civil Defence group -- also known as the 'White Helmets' - have been nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
The White Helmets are said to be made up of thousands of volunteers and are often seen in amateur videos posted online, digging through rubble after purported airstrikes in civilian areas and attempting to rescue people from destroyed buildings.
Thousands have signed a petition launched online by the Syrian Campaign group urging the Nobel committee to give this year's peace prize to the White Helmets.
British member of parliament Jo Cox, who was killed in her constituency in the summer, began the move to nominate the group of volunteers after writing to the committee in February.
Syria's five-year-old war pits Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, Iran and Arab Shi'ite Muslim militias against a myriad of Sunni Muslim rebel groups, including some supported by the United States, Turkey and Gulf Arab states.
The conflict has wrought a devastating human toll, killing hundreds of thousands, displacing half the country's pre-war population of 22 million and included poison gas attacks, starvation sieges and raids on hospitals.
The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced in Oslo on Friday October 7, at 1100 a.m (0900GMT).
The prize, worth 10 million Swedish crowns (1.4 million U.S. dollars), will be handed over on December 10, 2016. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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