Syrian govt. forces block US convoys in Hasakah, force them to turn back

Syrian government forces have 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 Syria’s 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. 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, says Washington is “plundering” the country’s oil.

Turkey dispatches new military convoy to Idlib 

Separately, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Turkey had sent a new military convoy to Syria’s embattled northwestern province of Idlib.

The Britain-based war monitor, citing activists requesting anonymity, said a Turkish convoy of some 40 military vehicles had entered Syrian territory through the Kafr Lusin border crossing and headed toward Turkish positions.

Turkey-backed militants stealing ancient artifacts in Syria's Afrin: Report

Turkey-backed militants have begun a new operation to steal ancient artifacts from Syria’s northwestern city of Afrin, a report says.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on March 13 that the Russian and Turkish militaries had agreed on the details of a new ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone following four days of talks in Ankara.

New US sanctions against Syria under Caesar Act condemned

Moreover, the General Secretariat of the Arab Parties Conference has strongly denounced new US sanctions against Syria under a legislation called the Caesar Act, which entered into forces on June 17, as an outrageous violation of international law and the UN Charter.

Iran-Syria accord first step to defang US Caesar sanctions: Assad's top aide

A senior aide to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hails a comprehensive military-security deal recently signed with Iran as the first step to overcome sweeping US economic sanctions against the Arab country.

“Such criminal acts will fail to undermine the steadfastness of Syria, Iran and Lebanon,” it said in a statement, pointing to the Damascus government’s generous support for the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement during the Israeli military’s 33-day war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006.

The statement highlighted that terrorist plots have been hatched against Syria over the past decade, because the government attaches high priority to national stances, calling on all Syrians to exercise resistance in the face of such conspiracies.

The General Secretariat of the Arab Parties Conference is based in the Jordanian capital city of Amman, and represents 130 Arab parties from different Arab countries.

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