‘Just like pirates’: Syrian minister says US controls most crude reserves in northeast, loots oil to strangle country’s economy — RT

 Syria’s petroleum minister has condemned US forces for acting “like pirates” as Washington continues to plunder most of the oil wealth from the country’s resource-rich northeast, where the Pentagon backs Kurdish militia groups.

“Americans and their allies are targeting the Syrian oil wealth and its tankers just like pirates,” Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Bassam Tomeh told state TV this week, adding that the move is designed to cripple Syria’s economy, which depends on oil revenues.

    What has happened all through Syria war has not happened in any country, in terms of preventing us from tapping our wealth resources and at the same time stopping basic commodities from reaching our country.

Tomeh said that the total damage inflicted on the Syrian petroleum sector due to the US occupation exceeds $92 billion, noting that Washington currently controls 90 percent of the crude oil resources in the northeast region.