We will rescue anyone: BBC accompanies Syrias White Helmets after deadly attacks

When violence broke out in Syrias coastal area recently, including mass killings of civilians allegedly carried out as revenge for attacks on Syrian security forces, volunteer rescuers quickly came to help.

They were part of the Syrian civil defence group known as the White Helmets, which had operated in rebel-held areas during the civil war.

After the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December, the White Helmets arrived in Syrias capital, Damascus, welcomed as heroes by those who had supported the opposition.

Since then, they have started operating in more areas of the war-ravaged country.

Most of those killed in the recent attacks, which occurred over a period of days earlier this month, were Alawites - an offshoot of Shia Islam, and Assads minority sect.

Abdulkafi Kayal, head of operations for the White Helmets in Syrias coastal region, told the BBC that the groups work transcended politics: "When we go to rescue someone in need, we dont ask them about their religion or political opinion... Our mandate is to help those in need".

Throughout the civil war, Assad had branded the White Helmets a terrorist group, alleging it worked for armed rebels. But the group always said it was a neutral, humanitarian organisation and has been praised around the world for its work.

"We are Syrians, and we cant separate our care for one area more than the others," Mr Kayal said. "It is our homeland, and we consider ourselves as an umbrella to serve all Syrians."

The recent outburst of violence was the worst in Syria since interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa led the lightning rebel offensive that overthrew Assad.

Tensions had been brewing since December, when supporters of Assad killed 14 interior ministry troops in an ambush, two weeks after the former president was overthrown.

In early March, fighting broke out between security forces and fighters loyal to the previous regime, with dozens reportedly killed on both sides.

Syrian security forces were then accused of carrying out revenge killings of Alawites in the coastal province of Latakia - the sects heartland.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, has since said more than 1,400 civilians were killed in Latakia and its neighbouring provinces Tartous, Hama and Homs.

BBC News has not been able to verify whether the killings were committed by the forces of Syrias new rulers.

The White Helmets, responding to such incidents, said they were conducting around 30 response calls a day at the height of the attacks - including the retrieval of more than 100 bodies.

"We are here to serve everyone without any differentiation," Mr Kayal said.

"Our slogan is To Save one life is to save all of the humanity. It doesnt matter if it is a Muslim, Sunni, Alawite, Christian, Druze or even an atheist. Those families are our families."

Last week, BBC News joined the White Helmets as volunteers got to work in Tartous following reports of a massacre in the village of Barmada.

The team retrieved 10 bodies of government fighters, which all appeared to have been thrown from a hillside into a valley. Their hands and legs were tied, suggesting they had been caught by the opposing side.

Saber, a state security officer who was at the scene, accused Assad loyalists of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of his colleagues. BBC News could not independently verify this claim.

"When Syria was liberated from the Assad regime, we tried hard to keep everything under control, to unite Syria, with all its governorates and components, to rebuild a new Syria that we want to be proud of in the Middle East," he said.

But he added that this had been difficult, because "when we took control of the country, we had a personal problem with the [anti-Assad] militia because the majority of them were victims of chemical attacks, bombs, massacres and many crimes that caused a devastating psychological impact on them".

Images and video online appear to show soldiers killing civilians, including children, in the coastal areas where the Alawite killings took place.

One man, Maen, told BBC News his son and aunt had been killed by security forces. He buried them in his courtyard so they could remain close.

"We suffered under Assad and now we are prosecuted under this new government," he said.

Maens wife wept as she looked at her sons photo. "What did he do?" she asked. "He was 20 years old and did nothing to harm anyone."

Al-Sharaa, Syrias interim president, has set up an independent committee to investigate the killings and has insisted the perpetrators would be held accountable.

But if his government wants to prevent a new civil war, many feel it must prove it can protect the Alawites and ensure the rights of all citizens in the new Syria.