Eurasia Press & News
The US and its Kurdish allies have continuously looted oil and other resources from Syria’s northeastern province
On 14 December, Syria renewed its call for a complete withdrawal of all US forces from the country’s northeastern provinces.
According to state-affiliated newspaper Al-Watan, the Syrian government also demanded compensation for all losses caused by the US occupation forces.
Damascus accused the United States of using the fight against ISIS to plunder Syria’s natural resources. Additionally, Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates estimates the damages inflicted by US air strikes and military operations to be anywhere near $25.9 billion, with indirect losses amounting to over $86 billion.
“The ongoing looting of crude oil, natural gas, and mineral resources has incurred a loss worth $19.8 billion, while 3.3 billion was lost due to acts of vandalism against essential facilities,” the ministry added.
Damascus claims that the UN security council neglects the continuous looting of oil with the help of the Syrian Democratic forces (SDF). The ministry also disclosed that it sent two letters to the security council and the Secretary General of the UN.
Earlier this month, the western-backed SDF suffered significant losses due to Turkiye’s recent wave of air strikes as part of Ankara’s Operation Claw-Sword. Since the operation began, Turkiye has reportedly struck more than 500 Kurdish targets in Iraq and Syria.
Last month, the SDF asked Washington for stronger assurances to prevent Turkish offenses against its forces in Syria.
US ambassador to Turkiye, Jeffry L. Flake, met with the Turkish Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar, to prevent further hostilities between Turkiye and the US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria. However, Turkiye claimed that Washington failed to meet their demands.
While joint military operations between the SDF and the US-led coalition came to a brief halt because of Turkish air strikes, the SDF announced that the joint operations have resumed, leading to the arrest of a high-ranking emir of the Islamic State group in northeastern Syria.
Meanwhile, the Russian Presidential Special Envoy to the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, was quoted by Turkish media, saying that his country continued to push the Turkish side to desist from initiating the ground action in northern Syria, emphasizing that there have been successes in this regard.
