Stealing Syrian Oil by US Occupation Forces 'Disgrace’ to America: Chinese Paper

China Daily made the assertion in an article published on Saturday, following reports that a convoy consisting of more than a hundred US 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 US troops steal oil from Syria, as theft has long been their profession. Yet, it is rather informative that the US 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 “US' 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 US is probably one of them. There have been many reports of the US having shipped seized and shipped gold out of the country.”

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.

SANA reported on Saturday that the US occupation forces plundered a cargo of 89 tankers carrying Syrian oil in violation of all international laws and regulations.

The US military has stationed 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 the deployment is meant to plunder the country's rich mineral resources.

Former US president Donald Trump admitted on more than one occasion that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil.