DAMASCUS, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the recent U.S. decision to render financial support to the Syrian Civil Defense group, or "White Helmets," which is listed by the Syrian government as a terror group.
In a statement released by state news agency SANA, the ministry said the additional financial support by the U.S. to the White Helmets is a flagrant evidence of the support of U.S.-led Western countries to terrorism in Syria since 2011.
The ministry accused the U.S. and its Western allies of using the White Helmets to practice terrorism, particularly in the alleged chemical attacks that were staged to tarnish the image of the Syrian government and prolong the Syrian war.
It said the White Helmets are part of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
The condemnation came just days after the U.S. administration has reportedly agreed to provide fund of 6.6 million U.S. dollars for the White Helmets, the so-called "rescue group" by Western powers in certain rebel-held areas of Syria.
The Syrian government has for long blamed the White Helmets for allying with the Nusra Front, citing evidence of the organization's attempts to falsify facts and to put on a fake humanitarian face to support the ultra-radical rebel groups in Syria.
