US Syria looting: Occupation forces smuggle 60 trucks of oil, wheat to Iraq

The American occupation forces have once again smuggled oil and wheat from Syria to their bases in northern Iraq as Washington continues to loot resources in the war-ravaged Arab country.

Citing Syrian sources and news media, the Arabic service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency said the US military used 60 trucks and tankers on Thursday to smuggle oil and wheat from Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in the north of Iraq.

“A convoy consisting of 36 tanks loaded with stolen Syrian oil, was taken out by the American occupation forces to their bases in northern Iraq, through the illegal Al-Walid crossing,” the sources said, adding, “Another convoy of 24 trucks, accompanied by US military vehicles, carrying wheat stolen from grain centers and silos in Hasakah, was removed by the US army through the illegal Al-Walid crossing as well.”

The report said the convoys were escorted by the US armored military vehicles and Kurdish militants.

The Syrian Ministry of Oil has previously revealed that “the American occupation forces and their mercenaries steal about 66,000 barrels per day from the area they occupy in eastern Syria, out of their total daily production of 3,80,000 barrels.”

Syrian media outlets regularly report on American illegal oil and food smuggling activities, with the US occupiers and their local Kurdish allies organizing convoys containing dozens of tankers or trucks at least once a week, and sometimes multiple times.

Damascus has repeatedly condemned Washington’s oil and food looting activities, which have robbed Syria of access to nearly 90 percent of its oil resources, and much of its arable land.

Prior to the 2011 foreign-backed terrorist campaign unleashed in the country by the US and its European and regional allies in their bids to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad, Syria enjoyed modest self-sufficiency in both food and energy.

The US military has deployed at least 800 illegal troops in Syria east of the Euphrates River since 2017, controlling Syrian energy fields and blocking Damascus from regaining control of its internationally recognized borders.

Washington and its European allies have also imposed a crushing sanctions regime against Syria, aimed at crippling its economy by blocking the import of all sorts of goods, including medicines and medical equipment.