Syria raps US looting of its resources, urges swift withdrawal of American forces

Syria has condemned the American occupation forces’ looting of its oil and wealth, urging the United States to stop its support for terrorist and separatist groups and to swiftly withdraw from the Syrian territory.

In a tweet on Saturday, Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said that the American occupation forces continued to plunder the Arab country’s oil and wealth through northern Iraq to Turkey over the past weeks.

“These American actions, which are characterized by banditry, contradict international humanitarian law, and lead to the impoverishment of the Syrian people and prolong their suffering,” the ministry tweeted.

It added that Syria once again slams the US forces for looting its assets and calls on the American administration to stop them and pay compensation to the Syrian people because the United States should not play the role of pirates and bandits.

Earlier in the day, Syria’s official news agency SANA, cited sources in al-Yarubiyah countryside, reported that the US occupation forces have continued to loot and plunder the war-ravaged country’s resources and took out dozens of tanks loaded with stolen oil from Syrian fields of al-Jazeera towards Iraqi territories during the past hours.

According to the sources, the American occupation took out a convoy of 34 tankers loaded with stolen oil from al-Jazeera fields via the illegal al-Mahmudiya crossing, in addition to 40 other tankers through the illegal al-Walid crossing to Iraqi territory.

On April 11, the US occupation forces took out a convoy consisting of 77 vehicles, carrying 32 tanks loaded with stolen Syrian oil, in addition to six military armored vehicles from Hasakah Province through the Al-Waleed crossing with Iraq.

Since March 2011, Syria has been gripped by a campaign of militancy and destruction sponsored by the US and its allies.

In recent years, however, Syrian government forces, backed by Russia and Iran, have managed to win back control of almost all regions from terrorist groups.

The US military has stationed its forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oil fields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.

Damascus maintains that the deployment is meant to plunder Syria’s natural resources. Former US President Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil wealth.