Damascus, Jan 21 (IANS): The Syrian government has demanded the "immediate and unconditional withdrawal" of US forces from the war-torn country due to their "hostile practices".

In a statement issued on Wednesday the Foreign Ministry condemned what it called the "hostile practices" of the US forces in northeastern Syria, reports Xinhua news agency.

It accused the US forces of "systematic theft" of oil and agriculture resources in northern Syrian in addition to bringing in military reinforcement to that part of the country.

The former administration of President Donald Trump has destabilised the region and supported separatist movements in a bid to divide Syria and prevent reaching a political solution through supporting the "terrorist groups", the Ministry claimed.

The Ministry, meanwhile, called on the international community to condemn the US moves and occupation of Syrian territories and denounce the "coercive and unilateral" sanctions imposed on Syria.

The US forces have several positions in areas controlled by the Kurdish militias in northeastern Syria.

The Syrian government has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of the US forces, slamming American claims that its troops are present in Syria to fight terrorist groups.

Since late last year, the US has ramped up its military presence in Syria after a number of skirmishes with Russian forces.

In August 2020, seven American soldiers were injured in a collision with a Russian vehicle, the BBC reported.

The Russian and US governments blamed each other for the collision, which was filmed and posted to Twitter.

In October 2019, Trump had decided to withdraw 1,000 US troops that were operating in support of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

But few months later, the former President said he had decided to keep a few hundred troops in the country to protect oil wells.