After crossing of oil trucks from Iraq | Iranian fuel tankers unloaded in Syria, amid preparations for transporting their cargo to Lebanon
Reliable SOHR sources have confirmed that the three fuel tankers, which arrived in Syria from Iran on September 6, carried fuel to Lebanon not to Syria.
According to SOHR sources, two tankers carrying gasoline and one carrying petrol arrived on Monday at Banyas harbour in Tartus province. The three tankers are being unloaded, as the cargo will be transported to Lebanon by land through crossings under supervision of the Lebanese Hezbollah.
Official media outlets had claimed that two oil tankers anchored in Banyas as a part of camouflage, before SOHR sources confirmed that the tankers carried gasoline.
SOHR sources added “members of the 4th Division are prevalent at the crossings used for smuggling between Syria and Lebanon in Homs and Tartus, after the expulsion of civilian smugglers from the region, so that the 4th Division and Hezbollah can supervise the smuggling of Iranian oil to Lebanon through these crossings, especially in Homs countryside which is under the control of the Lebanese Hezbollah. Furthermore, the road between Homs and al-Qusayr has been secured, while the checkpoints and speed bumps have been removed.
On September 5, reliable sources told SOHR that a new batch of oil trucks carrying fuel entered Syria from Iraq, as nearly 39 oil trucks crossed through the crossings controlled by Iranian-backed militias in al-Mayadeen and al-Bokamal in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. The trucks took Dier Ezzor highway to Homs, then they headed to Lebanon. It is worth noting that this was the second batch of fuel to enter Syria from Iraq and head to Lebanon in that week. The first batch comprised at least 50 oil trucks.
According to SOHR sources, nine trucks of the recently-arrived batch headed to al-Mayadeen city, under Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas militiamen’s protection, where the trucks were unloaded their cargo in large tanks. It is worth noting that these tanks had been established by ISIS when it was controlling the region nearby al-Shibli monuments in al-Mayadeen desert, before Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas militia maintained them. This development coincided with the lack of fuel in areas under the control of the Syrian regime and its allies in Deir Ezzor after the suspension of smuggling fuel from SDF-held areas on the opposite bank of Euphrates river.
On August 29, SOHR activists reported the entry of nearly 50 trucks loaded with petrol from Iraq to Syria through al-Bukamal crossing in the countryside of Deir Ezzor, under protection of the 4th Division. According to SOHR sources the trucks were heading towards Lebanon.