The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a raid on the Euphrates river crossing area, used for smuggling to regime areas, east of Deir-ez-Zor.
The Euphrates Post network said, in a Facebook post, that on Tuesday SDF forces conducted a raid on the river crossing on the Euphrates in the city of al-Shuhail, east of Deir-ez-Zor, used for smuggling. They confiscated generators and burned pipes used by smugglers to transport gasoline, from areas under SDF’s control to areas controlled by the Syrian regime.
Last Thursday, the Syrian Network for Human Rights confirmed in a report that SDF violates the Caesar Act of the U.S. sanctions. SDF supplies the Syrian regime with oil and gas with nearly 6 million barrels of oil annually — bringing in revenues estimated at 120 million dollars.
Read Also: SNHR: SDF Violates Caesar Act by Supplying Regime with Oil and Gas
The report considered that the operations led by the international coalition forces to stop the smuggling of oil remain limited and incomplete. Often, their impact does not last more than several days, after which the trucks return to transport the oil to the areas under the control of the Syrian regime.
The report indicated that the SDF seeks to curb smuggling operations through the water crossings, while in return it turns a blind eye to smuggling and sales carried out across the land route. The report believes that the reason behind this procedure is that sales via land guarantee a doubled financial profit for SDF. They sell the oil directly without an intermediary to the companies that supervise the transportation of oil, such as the al-Qaterji Company which supports and is affiliated with the Syrian regime. As for transportation through the water crossings, oil is sold from the field to the inhabitants of the area, who in turn supervise its transportation through the water crossings to the areas under the control of the Syrian regime.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
