US-led Coalition rejects Assad’s charge of stealing Syria’s oil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Col. Myles Caggins, Spokesman for the US-led Coalition, formally known as Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Resolve (CJTF-OIR), spoke on Friday during a joint press conference with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria in the oil-rich town of Ramalan.

Caggins strongly rejected the claim of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that the US-led coalition was stealing oil in Syria.

“The Coalition is here for the fight against ISIS,” Caggins affirmed. “We're here to protect critical infrastructure that is operated by people in this region. There is nobody in American uniform, who is doing anything at the oilfields apart from protecting it, keeping it safe from ISIS.”

Coalition Supporting Local Economy to Counter ISIS

On Thursday, the US-led coalition invited, for the first time, local business leaders to Ramalan to register their enterprises for possible contracts to support bases that are used by Coalition troops. The Coalition’s aim, in part, is to assist the local economy, a vital step in the fight against the terrorist organization.

“Most of the Hasakah region, from here to Derik, did not have active ISIS fighters, because the community would not allow it,” Caggins said, stressing the crucial point that ISIS’ success or failure often depended on whether it had local support or it did not have such support.

“We think a strong economy, economic stimulation, is important for that, and we're here to give local businesses an opportunity to compete for logistic services on our bases,” he affirmed.

“We hope this is successful,” he added, “and we will have updates in the weeks after the contract review process.” 

Syrian Regime may try to Distract from Oppression of its own People

The Coalition Spokesman also warned that Damascus might try to distract attention from its brutality to its own people, which includes “indiscriminately bombing and killing civilians—tens of thousands of them.”

That “must stop,” Caggins affirmed, adding, “We're glad to see that there has been recent discussions that there may be peace in the northwest.”

“But we're just here to protect the oil infrastructure, that's it, period. And defeat ISIS,” he concluded.

On Thursday, Russia and Turkey reached a ceasefire deal—after some one million civilians were displaced by a regime offensive that Russia had backed.

Also on Thursday, Syria’s president told the Moscow television channel, Russia 24, that the Americans are “occupying our lands” and that they are “thieves stealing our oil.”

Assad called on the Kurdish-led forces to abandon their alliance with the US against ISIS and work, instead, with Damascus.

“You cannot stand with the police [Damascus] and the thief [USA] at the same time, this is impossible,” Assad affirmed. “You are either with the police or the thief.”

Last October, following a telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey launched an offensive into areas of northern Syria under SDF control. Trump had hoped that Turkey would maintain security there and allow him to withdraw US troops.

However, Trump’s decision was widely criticized, including within his own political base. The White House then soon reversed, in part, that decision, agreeing to leave some 500 US troops in Syria to protect oilfields in the provinces of Hasakah and Deir al-Zor.

“Part of our mission in Eastern Syria, in Hasakah and Deir-ez-Zor, is to work with the SDF to protect critical infrastructure, including oil sites,” Col. Myles Caggins told reporters.

However, the Kurdish-led SDF fears that there could be another Turkish attack in the future, despite the relative calm that prevails now in the northeast and the ceasefire agreement with Turkey that the US arranged.

That concern was reflected in a statement by the head of the SDF, Mazlum Abdi, to Al Monitor in February in which he said there could be another Turkish attack on the oil-rich area of Qahtaniya (Tirbespi), near Qamishli.

Yet the Coalition spokesperson said the mission of the US-led Coalition was focused only against ISIS.

“I refer you to the government of the neighboring country for their intentions,” he stated. “We're going to stand side-by-side with the SDF and the people of this region in the fight against ISIS and to protect critical infrastructure.”

Editing by Laurie Mylroie