Fresh US military convoy enters northeast Syria from western Iraq

The US military has sent a new convoy of trucks loaded with military hardware and logistical gears to Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah as Washington seeks to control and loot crude resources in the war-torn country.

Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing unnamed local sources in al-Ya'rubiyah town, reported that a convoy of 30 vehicles, including trucks and armored personnel carriers, rumbled through the Waleed border crossing, located in the al-Rutba district of Iraq’s western province of Anbar, into Syrian territories on Thursday.

The sources added that the convoy drove by Tel Hamees town and headed toward the provincial capital city of Hasakah.

According to SANA, the US forces have also built an airstrip in Geweran neighborhood of Hasakah province to allow their military aircraft to land and take off. They have also occupied a large number of state buildings in the area with the help of Kurdish-led members of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

This came only a day after the US military dispatched a convoy of dozens of tankers to the small Syrian city of al-Malikiyah in Hasakah province.

The vehicles headed toward the Iraqi territory after being loaded with crude oil, according to SANA.

Since late October 2019, the United States has been redeploying troops to the oil fields controlled by Kurdish forces in eastern Syria, in a reversal of President Donald Trump’s earlier order to withdraw all troops from the Arab country.

The Pentagon claims the move aims to “protect” the fields and facilities from possible attacks by Daesh. That claim came although Trump had earlier suggested that Washington sought economic interests in controlling the oil fields.

Syria, which has not authorized the presence of the US military in its territory, says Washington is “plundering” the country’s oil.

The presence of US forces in eastern Syria has particularly irked the civilians, and local residents have on several occasions stopped American military convoys entering the region. 

Syrians protest deployment of US-backed SDF militants

Separately on Wednesday, dozens of people in Tel Hamees town in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah staged a demonstration in protest at the deployment of US-sponsored SDF militants in the area and their arbitrary practices.

SANA reported that the residents blocked the main road to the town with burning tires and blocks of stone, demanding the withdrawal of the militants from the region.

Security conditions are reportedly deteriorating in the areas controlled by the SDF in Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr provinces amid ongoing raids and arrests of civilians by the US-backed militants.

Locals argue that the SDF’s constant raids and arrest campaigns have generated a state of frustration and instability, severely affecting their businesses and livelihood.

Residents accuse the militants of stealing crude oil and failing to spend money on service sectors.

Local councils affiliated with the SDF have also been accused of financial corruption. They are said to be embezzling funds provided by donors, neglecting services and not meeting the people’s basic needs.