DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – Syrian government troops have blocked a U.S. military convoy as it was attempting to pass through a community in the northeastern province of Hasakah, amid public resentment over the deployment of American occupation forces in the energy-rich parts of the Arab country.
Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that Syrian army troops deployed at a security checkpoint in al-Damkhiyah village on the outskirts of Qamishli city, intercepted the convoy of five armored vehicles on Monday.
The American troops were subsequently forced to turn around and go back in the direction they came from. There were no reports of clashes or injuries.
Earlier this month, Syrian government soldiers and U.S. military troops engaged in clashes as the latter conducted an airdrop operation in the village of Muluk Saray, south of the city of Qamishli.
The skirmishes reportedly erupted after American forces carried out an airdrop operation on a village controlled by the Syrian military.
A civilian, identified as Rakan Abu Hayel, lost his life during the airdrop operation.
The U.S. 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 that the deployment is meant to plunder the country’s natural resources. Former U.S. president Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil wealth.
On September 21, China called on the United States to stop plundering Syria’s national resources and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Arab country.