US-Backed Kurdish Militias Plundering, Smuggling Syria's Crude Oil

The US forces are cooperating with the predominately Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to loot Syria's oil in the SDF-held regions in the Eastern part of the war-hit country, a media outlet reported on Tuesday.

News ID: 70424

Date: 29 May 2018 - 15:13

TEHRAN (Defapress)-The Arabic-language website of Russia's state news agency, Sputnik, quoted Head of Damascus Oil Company Ali Mar'ei as reporting that the Kurdish militias have stolen and smuggled almost one thousand billion Syrian lira worth of the country's oil in cooperation with the US forces since occupation of the Eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

He further told the agency that most of the oil-rich regions are on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates River that is occupied by the US Forces and their Kurdish allies, adding that the Kurdish militias extract crude oil from the region and smuggle it to Turkey.

The ISIL terrorists were doing the same before losing the oil-rich regions to the US forces and SDF, Mar'ei told Sputnik.

In the meantime, international energy activists reported that the Syrian crude is transferred to Turkey's Jihan port via a pipeline in Iraqi Kurdistan and later huge tankers carry the crude oil to Israeli waters, adding that a part of Syria's smuggled crude are transferred to Turkey via the pipeline.

The sources said earlier this month that the US forces built a new and advanced military base in al-Omar oilfield in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, adding that they also transferred a large volume of arms and equipment, including missiles, military vehicles and bridge equipment to the regions of their deployment in Koniko oilfield, al-Omar oilfield and al-Jafreh.

Meantime, the Washington-backed SDF sent a number of their forces to the regions near the Syrian army positions in the villages of Jiya, Salehiyeh and al-Tabiyeh.

Moscow had earlier warned the Syrian forces of a possible US assault on their positions.

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