Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units provide Syrian government with fuel

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, fuel trucks coming from Iraq crossed the Syrian border, entering al-Bukama in eastern Deir ez-Zor, according to the local website Midia River.

The Syrian government forces’ Fourth Corps received four fuel trucks, that came from Iraq through a mediator named Abu Krar Iraqi and an official in the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

The Popular Mobilization Units are a group of Iranian-backed mostly Shi’ite militias in Iraq.

The trucks did not unload their cargo in al-Bukama, but headed towards Syrian government-held areas, according to the website.

“In the coming days there will be larger numbers of trucks to support the Syrian government,” a source from the PMU confirmed.

The Syrian government has been in the midst of a fuel crisis for three weeks, and cars wait in lines for days to gain fuel.

The reason for the severe gasoline crisis in Syria was due to the American blockade of production and supply, Bassam Tohme, the Syrian Minister of Oil, said in a statement a week ago.

Further worsening the crisis was the cessation of production at the Baniyas refinery, which provides the country with two-thirds its total gasoline, Tohme added.