By Hamed Chapman

London, (The Muslim News): The Syrian government is seeking compensation through the UN for billions of dollars of its resources lost through attacks on the country’s oil, gas and other natural resources by the US and its affiliated militias as well as from direct looting in occupied regions.

“Foreign and Expatriates Ministry affirmed that the US occupation forces and their affiliated militias continue their systematic looting of the Syrian oil, wheat and other national and vital main resources,” the ministry was quoted saying by state news agency SANA.

The ministry re-demanded that the UN adopt urgent steps to cease the violation of international law by the US and its allies, ensure compensation while ending its illegitimate presence and to immediately and unconditionally lift “coercive” measures to improve the humanitarian situation and provide appropriate conditions for the return of the displaced and refugees to their homeland.

“The latest statistics expose that the direct losses total value from the assaults committed by the US forces, militias and affiliated terrorist entities on Syrian territory has amounted to 25.9 billion US dollars. 19.8 billion US dollars of looting oil, gas and mineral resources, and 3.3 billion US dollars resulting from vandalizing and ransacking of facilities,” it said Wednesday.

Indirect losses were also estimated at exceeding 86 billion US dollars, which represents the value of lost production (crude oil, natural gas, domestic gas, oil derivatives, mineral resources) as a result of lower production than planned rates in normal working conditions, making the total value of the Syrian oil sector losses recorded at some 111.9 billion US dollars.

Regions under occupation, including the oil-rich provinces of Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah,, are mainly by US-backed Kurdish militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), associated with the PKK in Turkey that is outlawed as a terrorist ironically by Washington as well as the EU.

The main goal of siphoning off Syrian oil is to help the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), which is protected by more than 13 US military bases, to finance its activities and cover its local fuel needs.

According to political and security affairs writer and journalist at Lebanon’s daily Al Akhbar newspaper, Firas Al-Shoufi, the role of the US military in stealing Syria’s oil runs deeper than mere petty theft.

“The funds are used to prop up Kurdish self-rule and ensure Syria’s geographic division,” said Al-Shoufi, who also writes for The Cradle, an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics.

The Cradle quoted Syrian government sources as saying there is growing conviction that Washington’s intentions are to continue using Kurdish divisions and separatist goals to maintain political instability in Syria for many years to come, and to keep the country hostage to international and regional ambitions and to post-war chaos.

[Map of Syria by CIA Factbook/Public Domain]