Syria's White Helmets 'answering all calls' to save lives after quake

Members of the Syria Civil Defence (White Helmets) work at their media center, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in the rebel-held town of Sarmada, Syria February 10, 2023. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

JANDARIS, Syria (Reuters) - As an excavator claws at the shattered remains of yet another home in Syria's rebel-held northwest, Abdel Qader Abdelrahman surveys the debris in the hope of spotting people who might - against all the odds - still be alive underneath.

The former school principal joined the White Helmets in 2022 as a medic, drawn to its humanitarian mission through a 12-year war that has carved Syria into cantons held by rival armed groups.