The Cradle: Routes of US tankers stealing Syrian oil unveiled
Americans continue stealing Syria's resources while the country is suffering from a 10-year Western war and draconian sanctions
In its latest episode of the long series of theft of Syria's resources, the US occupation pillaged on November 14 a new quantity of oil from the Syrian al-Jazira region.
The looting came only one day after occupation forces stole and transferred to Iraq a load of 94 tankers holding massive amounts of Syrian oil and wheat, as the country struggles with energy shortage and skyrocketing food prices due to the ongoing West-sponsored war and the embargo that was launched over 10 years ago.
The illegal operation came in cooperation with the US-backed Kurdish militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Local sources informed Syrian media that the “American occupation forces took out a new batch of stolen Syrian oil, in 76 tankers, to their bases in northern Iraq, through the illegal Mahmudiyah crossing."
The Cradle news website recently carried out an extensive investigation, unraveling the detailed looting operation by the US and its proxy militia the SDF, of the sovereign country's resources through illegal border crossings into the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
The investigation report cited the Syrian Oil Ministry, which stated that US occupation forces stole over 80 percent of Syria's daily oil production, which comes close to “66,000 barrels of oil every single day.”
The losses since the war began on Syria in 2011 in the energy (oil and gas) sector have amounted to nearly $107 billion, according to a report released by Syrian authorities.
Tankers take around 48 hours to go through intended crossings
Soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army have, on numerous occasions so far, prohibited US forces from crossing army checkpoints, most recently on November 4 according to state-owned SANA.
"Theft of Syrian natural resources witnessed a significant increase when former US President Donald Trump came to power," a former Iraqi diplomat told The Cradle.
The report reveals that the looted tankers take around 48 hours to go through the intended crossings (Fishkhabour, Al-Waleed or Al-Yaarubiyah), and are "approved by the US army".
"There are usually no less than 70 to 100 tankers transporting Syrian oil during each journey," sources told the news website.
According to The Cradle, "the trip starts from the Syrian Al-Jazira region and passes through Al-Hasakah, where it stops for hours before continuing to one of the border outlets to procure supplies, and then proceeds to the Harir site in Erbil in the KRI."
"The oil is emptied into other tanks that carry it to the US base at Ain al-Assad in Iraq’s Anbar province, or to Halabja province, where another US military base is located," the report added.
An Iraqi source informed on the matter stated that the tankers transferred to US occupation bases in Iraq require previous approval by the "National Operations Center," and is disguised as "logistical support for the international coalition forces."