A convoy of US armored vehicles patrols the northeastern Syrian town of Qahtaniyah at the border with Turkey. (Photo: AFP)

Damascus, April 5 (RHC)-- Syria says Washington's latest annual report on human rights around the world is based on “delusions and lies” and represents the “height of hypocrisy” as Washington itself is the largest rights violator both inside and outside its borders.

Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department released the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.  Upon the release of the report, Secretary of State Antony Blinken painted a grave picture of the deterioration of human rights in multiple countries and regions throughout the world, including in Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, China, Iran and Syria.

Regarding Syria, the report accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of “atrocities” against the Syrian people.  “Assad’s atrocities against the people of Syria continued unabated, and this year marks ten years of their struggles to live in dignity and freedom,” it claimed.

In a statement on Saturday, Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry dismissed the allegations, saying they have all been taken from reports by terrorist organizations and their supporters and financiers in the region and beyond.

Syria says that the report did not address the real tragedy facing the Syrian people, characterized by terrorism and its financing by the U.S. -- which is now openly plundering Syrian oil and wheat.  The people in Syria are suffering in their food, health, and various aspects of life as a result of the inhumane economic blockade that has been imposed by the West with the aim of starving and impoverishing the nation, the statement added.

The ministry further accused Washington of hypocrisy over claims that human rights are a priority in its foreign policy.  The U.S. report, the ministry said, propagates “delusions and lies” about Syria and other countries that do not agree with Washington’s policies.

The Syrian government has repeatedly denounced Washington’s unilateral sanctions as “crimes against humanity,” saying the Western sponsors of terrorism must pay the price for their atrocities against the Syrian nation.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since 2011, with the US maintaining an illegal military presence on the Syrian soil during the conflict.

The U.S. has backed the militants fighting the legitimate government of Syria, stolen the country’s crude oil resources, bombed the positions of Syrian army and anti-terror popular forces, and imposed crippling sanctions on Damascus.

The U.S. military has stationed forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the troops deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.

Damascus, however, says the deployment is meant to plunder the country's resources.