State Media: U.S. Steals 89 Tankers of Oil From Syria
DAMASCUS (Xinhua) – The U.S. forces has sent 89 oil tankers to carry stolen oil from Syria to U.S. bases in Iraq, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
The latest oil convoy went into Iraq through the al-Mahmoudieh crossing, which has been used by the United States to send stolen Syrian oil into Iraq, said SANA.
This comes two days after the U.S. sent a convoy of 144 oil tankers in the same way, SANA added.
SANA said the incident is part of America’s ongoing violations of international principles and their involvement in plundering the natural resources of other nations and starving their peoples.
The Syrian government has long accused the United States of stealing the natural resources in Syria, such as oil, gas and wheat.
The development comes as Syria’s official news agency SANA said on Thursday that 144 tankers laden with stolen Syrian oil had entered the Iraqi territories after crossing al-Mahmoudiya border crossing.
The development took place only a few days after American occupation forces allowed a convoy of 60 vehicles, including tanker trucks carrying stolen Syrian oil and covered trucks, to cross the “illegitimate” al-Waleed crossing into Iraq.
‘Washington Commits Crimes, Violates Human Rights’
The United States has committed crimes in the Middle East, especially in Syria, during their illegal military interventions and occupations, as was reported by a Chinese NGO, Syrian experts have said.
The China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS) released a report, titled U.S. Commits Serious Crimes of Violating Human Rights in the Middle East and Beyond, revealing a series of crimes committed by the United States in the Middle East and surrounding areas that seriously violated international law.
The U.S. policy implemented by Washington directly through its armed forces or its proxies has led to the downfall of states in the Middle East, limited their access to reconstruction and created a suitable environment for terrorism, said Osama Danura, a Syrian political expert.
The region has become the primary incubator for terrorism over the past decade as a result, Danura stressed.
Meanwhile, a leading Chinese newspaper has lambasted the continued plundering of the Syrian oil by the U.S. occupation forces across the Arab country, saying that the looting is a “disgrace and a shame to Washington.”
China Daily made the assertion in an article published on Saturday, following reports that a convoy consisting of more than a hundred U.S. military tankers had carried thousands of liters of crude oil from the northeastern Syrian province of Hasakah to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
“It is easy to understand the fact that U.S. troops steal oil from Syria, as theft has long been their profession. Yet, it is rather informative that the U.S. troops transported their stolen oil to Iraq, which is, in the general impression of the public, a country rich in oil,” the paper said, stressing that the matter shows the “U.S.’ greedy appetite for oil is still not satisfied.”
The top Chinese newspaper pointed out that the theft always reflects negatively on the people of the countries whose resources are stolen by the United States, underlining Iraq’s high rates of poverty despite the country’s richness in oil and other natural assets.
“Despite being the fifth-largest oil producer of the world, much of Iraq’s population is still living in poverty,” the paper said, adding, “There might be many reasons, but pillaging by the U.S. is probably one of them. There have been many reports of the US having shipped seized and shipped gold out of the country.”