A Syrian cameraman and rescue worker whose documentary about the White Helmets has been nominated for an Oscar will not attend the awards ceremony because Damascus has cancelled his passport, the civil defense group said Sunday.

Khaled Khatib was given a visa by the US to visit the country for the Oscars' ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday night, and he was to be joined by fellow rescue worker and group leader Raed Saleh.

However, in a statement early on Sunday, the White Helmets, also known as the Syrian Civil Defence, said that Saleh would not be able to leave his work because of the high intensity of air strikes while Khatib could not attend because Syria's government had cancelled his passport.

Khaled Khatib, 21, was scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on Saturday to attend the Oscars, where his film is nominated for Best Documentary Short

Khatib updated the news of his travel plans on Saturday. He said he was at an airport for three days because his passport was not accepted, despite having a U.S. visa

'The Syrian Civil Defence are grateful for the platform the film 'The White Helmets' is providing for their humanitarian message to reach around the world,' the statement said.

The White Helmets operate a rescue service in rebel-held parts of Syria, which have been subjected to fierce bombardment by the government and Russia's air force during the country's civil war that has leveled whole city districts.

Their harrowing 40-minute Netflix documentary gives a glimpse into the daily lives of the volunteers.

Syria's government under President Bashar al-Assad has accused the group of being a front for al Qaeda and of faking footage of the aftermath of air strikes for propaganda purposes, charges the White Helmets deny.

It was initially believed Khatib had been barred from entering the US by immigration authorities.

The 21-year-old was preparing to make his way to Los Angeles when there was a last-minute decision to block him from traveling because officials found 'derogatory information' on the young Syrian.

The White Helmets' harrowing 40-minute Netflix documentary gives a glimpse into the daily lives of the volunteers

The White Helmets has been nominated for Best Documentary Short. If the film wins the Oscar, the award would go to director Orlando von Einsiedel and producer Joanna Natasegara

According to internal Trump administration correspondence, the Department of Homeland Security decided at the last minute to block Khatib from traveling to Los Angeles for the Oscars.

Khatib was scheduled to arrive Saturday in Los Angeles on a Turkish Airlines flight departing from Istanbul. But his plans have been upended because of the 'derogatory information'.

Derogatory information is a broad category that can include anything from terror connections to passport irregularities.

Khatib updated the news of his travel plans to his Twitter followers on Saturday. He said he was at an airport for three days because his passport was not accepted, despite having a U.S. visa.

He said in a previous interview with CNN: 'If I cannot enter the US, I will not give up: we know that we have many friends in US, that there are people that share our humanitarian values. I look forward to meeting them all one day.'

It was initially believed Khatib had been barred from entering the US by immigration authorities

The White Helmets has been nominated for Best Documentary Short. If the film wins the Oscar, the award would go to director Orlando von Einsiedel and producer Joanna Natasegara.

Khatib is one of three people credited for cinematography; Franklin Dow is the film's director of photography.

The film focuses on the rescue workers who risk their lives to save Syrians affected by civil war. Many of the group's members have been killed by Assad's air forces. The group also was nominated for last year's Nobel Peace Prize.

'The White Helmets' includes emblematic scenes of the deadly 6-year-old conflict: people digging through destroyed homes looking for survivors, at constant risk of 'double tap' attacks that target first responders after they've arrived at the scene of a strike.

Khatib tweeted in late January his excitement to have worked on the Netflix documentary The White Helmets, which was nominated for an Academy Award



