Representatives of the Qatirji company and leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) met in the Tabqa Civil Council — affiliated with the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria — in early August to discuss the possibility of increasing oil shipments that the company, which is listed on the US sanctions list, transports between government-held areas and those controlled by the SDF in northeast Syria. Qatirji demanded to raise the weekly number of tankers to 400, from 250, while the SDF demanded that the Syrian government provide it with 100 tankers of diesel and gasoline, instead of 50.
Another meeting is scheduled between Qatirji representatives and leaders of the Raqqa Military Council next week in the city of Raqqa, to discuss a mechanism to protect the tankers from being targeted with explosive devices by unknown individuals in the area.
