London-Sana
The administration of US President Donald Trump to extract and sell oil in Syria is a "war crime" and contrary to the Geneva Convention, the Independent newspaper reported.
The newspaper quoted experts as saying that "the United States has no legal right to control the oil fields in Syria and deprive the Syrians, and therefore the proceeds of this oil can not go to the US Treasury."
Washington is trying to complete its colonial role in Syria and the region, both politically and militarily, through its forces that are looting and stealing Syrian oil. Igor Konashenkov said that "all the underground wealth in Syrian territory is the property of the Syrian Arab Republic and not of ISIS terrorists or American protectors."
"Trump seems to think the United States can sell oil based on his past statements about Iraqi and Libyan oil," said Benjamin Friedman, director of policy at the Center for Defense Priorities Studies and an assistant professor at George Washington University. "It's an attempt to say we can loot countries."
"Profiting from the sale of Syrian oil to the US treasury would be illegal," Friedman said. "It is a looting under the law. Especially as a state's plundering of other capabilities is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions ratified by the United States."
Friedman said that "US forces in Syria do not even have legal authority from Congress to be there let alone take their resources."
The newspaper pointed out that Trump announced after the decision to withdraw his troops from Syria to return US troops to areas in the north soon, under the pretext of protecting oil fields in the region and that he intends to conclude a deal with a US company to extract oil from them.