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Syria says foreign attack damaged underwater oil pipelines

By AFP - Jun 25,2019 - Last updated at Jun 25,2019

DAMASCUS — An act of sabotage carried out with the help of a foreign state damaged underwater pipelines connected to Syria's Banyas oil refinery, a senior official said Monday.

While he did not name the alleged perpetrator, the deputy head of the Syria company for oil transport, Qais Deeb, said the attack was intended as a "message" to Damascus.

The government of President Bashar Assad has been slapped with a raft of Western economic sanctions, including an oil embargo the United States and its partners sometimes enforce militarily.

The Syrian state news agency SANA on Sunday released pictures of what it said were the remains of mines used in an act of sabotage against underwater pipelines near Banyas.

"An oil leak was discovered on Saturday, and divers carried out inspections of the undersea pipelines, which revealed that five pipelines have been damaged," it said.

It quoted Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Ghanem as telling state television that six underwater pipelines connecting oil tankers to the Banyas terminal had been damaged.

Speaking to Sham FM radio on Monday, Qais Deeb said the damage was significant and temporarily made it impossible for oil tankers to offload.

He described the act of sabotage as “professional work” that ruled out local players.

“The idea was to attack our nation and send a message,” Deeb said, adding that the repair work was already under way.

Syria is suffering from a months-old fuel crisis, exacerbated by US-led sanctions, and has received Iranian oil shipments this year to ease the shortages.

Prior to the start in 2011 of the ongoing civil conflict, Syria was an oil exporting country producing around 400,000 barrels per day.

Now its output is at 24,000 bpd, way below the level needed for self-sufficiency.

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