Locals pelt US convoy with stones in Syria’s northeast to stop it from entering village

In a show of seething resentment over the presence of American troops in their region, dozens of people in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah have blocked a road, throwing stones at a US military convoy and forcing it to leave the area.

Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that the US convoy was confronted by residents of Faris Kabir village, which lies in the al-Qahtaniyah subdistrict of the predominantly Kurdish-inhabited Qamishli district, on Monday morning as it sought to make its way through the region.

SANA added that groups of locals threw stones at the soldiers, forcing the convoy to “go back to where it came from.” No one was hurt in the confrontation.

A video published on online video-sharing platform YouTube showed several American military vehicles flying US flags parked on an unpaved road, as men and boys engulfed them amid the smoke of burning tires.

There was no immediate comment from the US military.

US ramps up Syrian oil plunder, dispatches 50 tankers to Hashakah

The US military reportedly dispatches 50 oil tankers to Syria’s energy-rich northeastern province of Hasakah.

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.

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

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.  

SDF militants’ arms depot explodes in Hasakah

Separately on Sunday, a weapon storage facility belonging to militants affiliated with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) exploded in the town of Rmelan.

SANA, citing local sources requesting not to be named, reported that the explosion was followed by a series of blasts, leaving scores of the US-backed militants dead or injured.

Security conditions are reportedly deteriorating in the areas controlled by the SDF in Syria’s Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr provinces amid ongoing raids and arrests of civilians by the US-sponsored militants.

Locals argue that SDF’s constant raids and arrest campaigns have generated a state of frustration and instability, severely affecting their businesses and livelihood.

Residents accuse the US-backed militants of stealing crude oil and failing to spend money on service sectors.

Local councils affiliated with the SDF have also been accused of financial corruption. They are said to be embezzling funds provided by donors, and not meeting the people’s primary needs.

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