Syrian Army Blocks US Convoys in Hasakah, Forces Them to Turn Back

By Staff, Agencies

Syrian Army soldiers blocked three US military convoys as they tried to pass through the country’s northeastern province of Hasakah, amid lingering public resentment over the deployment of occupying American troops in the regions.

According to a report published by state-run official news agency SANA, the US forces' convoys had to turn around and head back in the directions they came from after Syrian army troops intercepted them in the villages of al-Sibat, Tal Shamiran and Mansaf Tahtani. 

No injuries were reported and there was no immediate comment from the US military.

The development took place only a day after a US convoy of three armored vehicles returned to its base when Syrian soldiers intercepted it in Mansaf Tahtani village, which lies in the Tal Tamr district of the same Syrian province, and did not allow it to move ahead. There have been no reports of injuries in that encounter.

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 [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group]. That claim came although Trump had earlier suggested that Washington sought economic interests in controlling the oil fields.

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.

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