Syria refutes Washington's false accusations of detaining US citizens
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In a statement, the Syrian foreign ministry asserts that Damascus "denies it has kidnapped or is holding any American citizen on its territories."
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The US must relinquish its protection of militias and terrorist groups in Al-Tanf base.
Damascus refuted on Wednesday allegations made by Washington regarding its kidnapping or detaining of US citizens in Syria.
In a statement, the Syrian foreign ministry said that Damascus "denies it has kidnapped or is holding any American citizen on its territories."
“The US issued last week misleading and illogical statements by the American president and secretary of state that included baseless accusations against Syria that it had kidnapped or detained American citizens including former US Marine Austin Tice," the statement said.
The ministry recalled that "the US government has admitted, years ago, that Austin Tice and other Americans entered the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic illegally," adding that such endeavors are encouraged by Washington despite the danger they pose to their citizens.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Syria stresses in its statement “the truth of its absolute commitment to the principles of international law and the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations”.
It also underlined that “any official dialogue or communication with the side of the US government will be made in public only.”
The ministry added that the US must relinquish its protection of militias and terrorist groups in Al-Tanf military base and refrain from stealing and smuggling Syrian oil and wheat.
Regarding the illegal presence of US troops in Syria, the ministry stressed that the US must immediately and unconditionally withdraw its forces from Syrian territories.
What is the US doing in Syria?
Besides being a military occupation that backs armed groups for its own operations and agenda in the region, the US occupation forces continue to steal Syrian oil by smuggling it from their bases in Syria to their bases in Iraq.
Convoys of tens of vehicles, including tankers loaded with stolen oil from oil fields occupied by US forces in Syria, are frequently seen crossing toward northern Iraq, in addition to trucks loaded with military equipment.
On Sunday, SANA reported that the US occupation forces in Syria looted 89 oil tankers from Syria and smuggled them into Iraq through illegal crossings.
A convoy of 89 oil tanks left from Al-Yaarubiyah, Al-Hasakah Governorate, using the illegal border crossing of Al-Mahmudiyah in northeastern Syria to get to Iraq, SANA also said on Saturday.
The United States has been for years supporting militias against Damascus, and the US-backed forces are currently occupying parts of the provinces of Al-Haskah, Deir Ezzor, and Raqqa, where the largest Syrian oil and gas fields are located.
The actions carried out by the United States constitute state piracy with the aim of plundering Syria's oil resources and depriving the Syrians of their own resources amid a harsh economic situation caused largely by the Americans themselves.
In late July, a convoy of 35 vehicles with tankers loaded with stolen Syrian oil that the US occupation forces control, as well as several covered trucks, traveled through the unauthorized Al-Mahmudiyah crossing, which was allocated by the US occupation forces more than two years ago to steal Syrian oil, one day after they smuggled 14 tankers loaded with Syrian oil.
See more: The US, a bandit in Syria
