Syria's White Helmets rescuers will not attend Oscars

Rescue workers from Syria's White Helmets group -- the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary -- will not attend this weekend's Academy Awards ceremony because of intensified regime bombing, their leader said today.

"I am not going because of our workload due to intensified regime strikes on the provinces of Damascus, Daraa and Homs," Raed Saleh told AFP.

"There are many things that have to be done on the ground, such as managing operations and providing emergency vehicles," he said.

Saleh and fellow White Helmet member Khaled Khatib had been set to attend tomorrows ceremony in Hollywood, where "The White Helmets" is shortlisted for best short documentary.

Istanbul-based Khatib, who shot much of the footage, also confirmed that he would not attend the ceremony, despite obtaining an American visa.

"I won't travel to OSCAR due to intensity of work, our priority is helping our people," he tweeted in English today.

"I was going to leave on Tuesday, but there was too much work because of the bombing," Khatib told

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)