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Protests continue against the US-backed so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Deir Ezzor for the fifth straight day, denouncing a reported crime of kidnapping two girls who took refuge in the Bakara tribe, raping and killing them, and dumping their bodies in a village in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor.

The residents of Harmushiyah, Hammar Al-Ali, Al-Kasrah, and Muhaymidah on the western side of Deir Ezzor held anti-SDF protests as per local sources cited by Syria's official news agency SANA.

The report added that the protesters used burning tires to block highways and demanded the expulsions of US occupation troops and their SDF militants from Al-Jazira region.

They also asked Ahmed Al-Khabil, the leader of the SDF-affiliated Deir Ezzor military council, to be held accountable for the rape and murder of the two girls in Al-Suwar region a few days ago by a number of his relatives and associates, as well as the murder of a protester by SDF fire.

The Raqqah, Hasakah, and Deir Ezzor provinces in northern and northeastern Syria are under US-led SDF authority, which sees extremely deteriorating security due to persistent raids and ongoing arrests of civilians by US-backed fighters.

Locals claim that the SDF's ongoing raids and arrest campaigns have badly harmed their businesses and way of life by causing a condition of agitation and instability.

Locals accuse the militants supported by the US of stealing crude oil and neglecting to invest in the service sector.

The United States has been for years supporting the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias, and the US-backed forces are currently occupying parts of the provinces of Al-Hasakah, 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 US occupiers.

What is the US doing in Syria?

Besides being an occupation force 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.

The US meddling in the crisis-stricken Middle Eastern country continues to be exposed, from occupation to military agenda and the theft of oil.