Syrian Arab Red Crescent

History

The society was founded in Damascus, Syria in 1942, and admitted to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1946. Some of founders included were Abdul-Kader Zahra, Jamil Kabara, Sami Al-Meedani, Shafiq Diyab, Mustafa Shawky, Ahmed Kadary, Wade Saydawy, Mounib Rifai, and others. The society is part of the International Federation and has been recognized by the ICRC. The SARC has 14 branches all over Syria and 75 sub-branches. Volunteer based, the SARC has around 11,000 trained volunteers that work in the areas of first aid, first aid training, disaster response and relief, psycho-social support, and health in general. SARC also partners with local charity organizations and works with the relevant components of the Syrian community, with UN agencies and NGOs.

Syrian civil war

The organization is working in the Syrian civil war and is engaged in evacuation of people from war torn region to other places. It is shifting people and militants who surrender and relocating them to other places. When Darayya surrendered to government forces, the militants were relocated by the Red Crescent.

SARC volunteers and hospitals have been the targets of numerous attacks since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. In 2016 a UN aid convoy composed mostly of SARC workers driving near Urum al-Kubra was bombed, killing at least 12 SARC drivers and destroying aid supplies in a warehouse. According to the ICRC 20 civilians were also killed in the attack. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack and temporarily suspended UN aid convoys after the attack. A UN investigation carried out by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic found that the Syrian government deliberately carried out the attack on the aid convoy which they allege amounts to a potential war crime.

In December 2016, Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis appointed Khaled Hboubati as SARC director to replace Abdul Rahman al-Attar. Al-Attar had previously served as director for more than 25 years, but received official orders to resign. According to Enab Baladi, SARC was directly linked to the Assad regime after Hboubati's appointment. Since 2011, there were allegations that SARC had lost independence after the Syrian government froze SARC's elections indefinitely and eliminated independent staff members. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs required all relief agencies to sign agreements with SARC as the official government partner to receive foreign aid.

Syrian transitional government

After the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, the Syrian transitional government appointed Mohammad Hazem Mohammad Sharif Baqlah to replace Khaled Hboubati as director.

References

References

1. (2017-04-14). "More Than 7,000 People Evacuated From 4 Besieged Syrian Towns". The New York Times.
2. (2016-08-26). "Darayya siege: Residents and fighters ready to evacuate Syrian town - BBC News". BBC News.
3. Borger, Julian. (2016-09-20). "US blames Russia after UN aid convoy in Syria targeted by air attack". The Guardian.
4. "IFRC joins Syrian Arab Red Crescent in mourning death of volunteer in Al-Tabaqa".
5. AFP. (2017-02-09). "Syria rebel fire kills three in Red Crescent centre: monitor".
6. Barnard, Anne. (2013-06-03). "Rushing to Aid in Syrian War, but Claiming No Side". The New York Times.
7. (2012-01-25). "Syria Chaos Claims Priest and an Aid Group Official". The New York Times.
8. Cumming-Bruce, Nick. (2017-03-14). "Syrian Military, Not Rebels, Severed Damascus Water Supply, U.N. Finds". The New York Times.
9. (2016-09-20). "US claims Russian warplanes bombed Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid convoy and warehouse".
10. (20 September 2016). "UN chief calls convoy attackers in Syria 'cowards'".
11. (2017-03-01). "U.N. Investigators Say Syria Bombed Convoy and Did So Deliberately". The New York Times.
12. (2024-12-19). "Khaled Hboubati out of Syrian Red Crescent". [[Enab Baladi]].