Russian Forces Take Over Two Oil, Gas Fields in Northeast Syria

An oil field in Syria (Archive photo)
An oil field in Syria (Archive photo)
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Russian Forces Take Over Two Oil, Gas Fields in Northeast Syria

An oil field in Syria (Archive photo)
An oil field in Syria (Archive photo)

Russian forces on Saturday took control over the al-Thawra oil facility, located in southwest Raqqa governorate in northeastern Syria, after the Iran-aligned Liwa Fatemiyoun militia having withdrawn from the site.

This follows Russian forces imposing their control of the Toueinane gas field in Raqqa’s countryside on Friday.

Russian military reinforcements alongside units from the Russian-backed Fifth Armored Division arrived on Saturday at al-Thawra oil facility which produces around 2,000 bpd, media sources based in Syria’s Euphrates region reported.

The oil facility used to produce around 6,000 bpd before 2010.

As for the Touneinane gas field, which was controlled by Iranian proxies and operated by HESCO, it produces about 3 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, 60 tons of domestic gas, and two thousand barrels of gas condensate.

Nine Russian military vehicles and four troop carriers transporting members of the Fifth Armored Division rolled into al-Thawra oil facility after Iran-aligned Fatemiyoun militia withdrew from the site as part of understandings reached with Russian forces, reported Eye of Euphrates, a local Syrian opposition media outlet.

Similarly, Eye of Euphrates correspondents reported on seven Russian military vehicles and three troop carriers transporting members of the Fifth Armored Division arriving at the Touneinane gas field on Friday.

It was not clear if Fatemiyoun militants had given up their presence at the gas field also as part of agreements with Russian forces around dividing control over strategic spots in northeast Syria.

Governorates like Deir Ezzor and Hasakah, which are situated near the war-torn country’s borders with Iraq and Turkey, include some of the most vital oil and gas fields in Syria.

It is worth noting that US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) control most of those fields. Hasakah’s Rmeilan oil field, which includes over 1,322 oil wells and 25 natural gas wells, is run by the SDF.



Borrell: Israel Committing ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell collects the Charles V European award (EPA)
Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell collects the Charles V European award (EPA)
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Borrell: Israel Committing ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell collects the Charles V European award (EPA)
Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell collects the Charles V European award (EPA)

The former EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has launched a blistering attack on Israel, accusing its government of committing genocide in Gaza and “carrying out the largest ethnic-cleansing operation since the end of the second world war in order to create a splendid holiday destination.”

According to The Guardian newspaper, Borrell also criticized the bloc’s failure to use all the means at its disposal to influence Israel, saying expressions of regret were simply not enough.

As he collected the Charles V European award in front of dignitaries including King Felipe in south-west Spain on Friday, the former EU chief said the horrors Israel had suffered in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 could not justify the horrors it had subsequently inflicted on Gaza.

“We’re facing the largest ethnic cleansing operation since the end of the second world war in order to create a splendid holiday destination once all the millions of tons of rubble have been cleared from Gaza and the Palestinians have died or gone away,” he said in a characteristically direct speech.

Last February, US President Donald Trump suggested that nearly two million Palestinians should be relocated from battle-leveled Gaza to new homes elsewhere so that the US could send troops to the Strip, take ownership and build the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

“You build really good quality housing, like a beautiful town, like some place where they can live and not die, because Gaza is a guarantee that they’re going to end up dying,” Trump told reporters after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.

Borrell accused Israel of violating all the rules of conflict and of using the starvation of Gaza’s civilian population as a “weapon of war.”

“Three times more explosive power has been dropped on Gaza than was used in the Hiroshima bomb,” he said.

“And for months now, nothing has been getting into Gaza. Nothing: no water, no food, no electricity, no fuel, no medical services. That’s what Netanyahu’s ministers have said and it’s what they’ve done.”

He added: “We all know what’s going on there, and we’ve all heard the objectives stated by Netanyahu’s ministers, which are clear declarations of genocidal intent. Seldom have I heard the leader of a state so clearly outline a plan that fits the legal definition of genocide.”