DAMASCUS, Feb 7 (NNN-SANA) – The U.S. forces have ramped up their operations, to “steal Syrian national wealth,” particularly oil and grains.
Syria accused the U.S. forces of smuggling oil and grains out of the country, through illegal crossings, saying, they transported 160 tanks and tankers, loaded with the stolen resources to Iraq in the past 24 hours.
Citing local sources in the north-eastern province of al-Hasakah, a convoy of 84 tanks carrying oil from the al-Hasakah fields, crossed the al-Mahmoudiyah border, to U.S. bases in northern Iraq.
Another convoy of 76 tankers carrying wheat and barley from grain silos, seized by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces militia, backed by the U.S., crossed the al-Walid border to Iraq.
The Syrian government denounced the U.S. operations as a violation of its sovereignty and an exploitation of its national wealth. Syria has been struggling with the impact of war and the theft of its vital resources worsens its economic woes.
The government has repeatedly questioned the role of the U.S. forces in Syria, saying, they violate international laws and norms.
Farhan Jamil Abdullah, head of the state-run Syrian Oil Company, said last July that, U.S. sanctions and military presence in Syria had reduced oil production by his company from 385,000 barrels per day to 15,000 barrels, and gas production from 30 million cubic metres per day to 10 million cubic metres.
He said, the government had lost control of most of the energy fields because of the U.S. presence in oil-rich areas in northern and eastern Syria.
Syrian Oil Minister, Firas Hassan Kaddour, said last July that, the U.S. presence in the country had caused economic losses of about 100 billion U.S. dollars in its energy sector.– NNN-SANA