U.S. forces continue to steal Syrian oil: state media

DAMASCUS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. forces on Monday sent 31 vehicles including oil tankers from Syrian oil fields in the northeastern province of Hasakah to U.S. bases in neighboring Iraq, state news agency SANA reported.

A day earlier, the U.S. sent 64 oil tankers from the fields in Hasakah to Iraq, according to SANA.

The Syrian government has long accused Washington of stealing natural resources in Syria, such as oil, gas, and even wheat.

On Aug. 8, the Syrian oil ministry said in a statement that the U.S. forces were stealing 80 percent of Syria's oil production.

The U.S. forces and their mercenaries are stealing an average of 66,000 barrels of oil per day in Syria as the country's average daily oil production is estimated to have reached 80,000 barrels in the first half of 2022.

On Aug. 29, the Syrian oil ministry said in a statement that the U.S. practices in Syria including its unlawful trafficking of Syrian oil have so far caused direct and indirect losses of about 107.1 billion U.S. dollars to Syria's oil and gas sectors.

The U.S. presence in Syria and its control over the natural resources and energy fields in the country are depriving the Syrian people of their resources "at a time when Syria has already been suffering from an acute shortage in energy materials," the ministry noted.