US military convoys forced to retreat after Syrian troops block road in Hasakah

Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that a US convoy of five armored vehicles had to turn around and head back in the direction it came from after Syrian army troops, stationed at a checkpoint at the entrance to the village of al-Damkhiyah, intercepted and expelled it from the area on Friday.

The news came only two days after local residents of al-Buladiyah village in the same Syrian province prevented a US military convoy from advancing through their area.

SANA reported at the time that the villagers threw stones at the American convoy of six armored vehicles and chanted vociferous slogans in condemnation of US occupation forces.

Separately, tribal elders and influential figures in the predominantly Kurdish-populated city of Qamishli held a meeting on Friday to denounce the presence of US and Turkish occupation forces in the region, and voiced rejection of their arbitrary measures.

“The presence of American troops in the area is aimed at looting Syria’s natural resources, and depriving the nation of their proceeds. Such a deployment is meant to serve the interests of the Israeli enemy, undermine public peace, and sow the seeds of division and discord people from various sects of the society,” they said in a statement.

“We reiterate our dismissal of all anti-government gatherings, and any assembly which has not placed confronting American and Turkish occupiers high on its agenda,” the statement added.

The tribal elders and local dignitaries also demanded unity among all Syrians and urged people to throw their weight behind Syrian government troops as they fight off the seditious plots of US and Turkish forces against the Arab country.

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

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