Jordan said on Sunday 800 people including members of Syrias "White Helmets" civil defence group had been evacuated from southwest Syria. A Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman said the kingdom had allowed the UN to arrange the entry and passage of 800 Syrian civil defence workers. According to Reuters, the ministry said the lives of those evacuated were in danger after a "government offensive that regained rebel-held parts of southern Syria." Jordan agreed to a request by Britain, Germany and Canada to give the White Helmet workers temporary asylum in the kingdom before settlement in the West on humanitarian grounds, spokesman Mohammad al Kayed said. The evacuation reportedly began at 9:30 PM Saturday evening, when the UN assisted the White Helmets crew to safely cross into the Golan Heights, Syria. Reuters reported Kayed as saying that the aid workers would remain at a "closed" location and that Britain, Germany and Canada had agreed to resettle them within three months. Officially called the Syrian Civil Defense but known by their distinctive white helmets, the group has operated a rescue service in rebel-held parts of Syria after aerial bombing of civilian areas.