U.S. forces, along with U.S.-backed militants of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), continue to steal the Syrian nation’s oil from the eastern province of Hasakah through pipelines from Tigris to Iraqi territory, a report said.
Local sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Syria’s official SANA news agency on Saturday that U.S. forces and SDF militants smuggled oil from fields in the al-Jazira region through recently laid pipelines that crossed the Tigris River in the Semalka region into Iraqi territory.
The sources added that the occupation forces stole hundreds of barrels of crude oil daily through 10-inch pipelines after being transported by tankers from fields in Karachuk in northeastern Rumailan.
It further said that the smuggled oil is first dumped by tankers into oil reservoirs in the Semalka region and then pumped through the pipelines toward Iraqi territory.
In addition, U.S. forces smuggle Syrian oil into Iraq weekly through dozens of commodity-laden tankers through illegal crossings created for this purpose.
The U.S. looting of Syrian oil was first confirmed during a conversation between South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this year.
Damascus has condemned the looting of the country’s natural resources, including oil and gas, by the outgoing administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The U.S. has been deploying soldiers to SDF-controlled oil fields in eastern Syria since late October 2019.
The Pentagon claims the move is aimed at “protecting” the fields and facilities from possible attacks by IS terrorists, but Trump has already said the U.S. seeks economic interests in controlling the oil fields.
by Basit Abbasi