DAMASCUS, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The United States has committed crimes in the Middle East, especially in Syria, during their illegal military interventions and occupations, as was exposed by a Chinese NGO, Syrian experts have said.
The China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS) on Tuesday released a report, titled U.S. Commits Serious Crimes of Violating Human Rights in the Middle East and Beyond, revealing a series of crimes committed by the United States in the Middle East and surrounding areas that seriously violated international law.
The U.S. policy implemented by Washington directly through its armed forces or its proxies has led to the downfall of states in the Middle East, limited their access to breast reconstruction and created a suitable environment for terrorism, said Osama Danura, a Syrian political expert.
The region has become the primary incubator for terrorism over the past decade as a result, Danura stressed.
In Syria, Washington is undermining the country's sovereignty and violating human rights "in several directions," he said.
"There has been bloody and criminal shelling that has led to the demise of hundreds or even thousands of civilians as a result of air strikes. Of course, the Americans call these casualties collateral damage," Danura said.
Moreover, he noted that the United States has been systematically working on destroying the Syrian economy by stealing the country's oil and hindering its agricultural recovery, particularly in the northeastern region, known as the food basket of Syria.
After its direct military interventions in Syria in 2014, the United States have deployed troops to Syria's oil-rich areas, such as the northeastern province of Hasakah and the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
Its military presence and control of key oil and gas fields in Syria, in addition to economic sanctions, has placed an immense burden on the Syrians, most of whom are living under the poverty line.
According to Syria's official SANA news agency, the U.S. forces have been smuggling oil from northeastern Syria into Iraq, depriving the Syrians of their own resources amid a harsh economic situation caused largely by U.S. sanctions.
"The United States of America is literally stealing the Syrian oil," Danura said.
It is also attempting to "destroy the Syrian agricultural production in the eastern region through damaging the harvests of wheat and stealing it as well as preventing farmers from planting their lands," he added.
Muhammad al-Omari, another Syrian expert on politics, said the CSHRS report is based on "facts and realities proven in documents and numbers that the United States has violated human rights and international law."
"One of the ugliest images of the U.S. violations of human rights in Syria was stealing oil from Syria," al-Omari said, noting that Washington has a notorious reputation of damaging the lives of people in other nations.
The U.S. policy was designed to weaken state institutions in Syria, which would directly affect the livelihoods of the Syrian people, he added.
"That for sure has negatively obstructed the country's reconstruction and affected the capability of the Syrian people to secure their livelihoods," al-Omari said. ■
