SYRIA accused Turkey of being “one of the main sponsors of terror” across the Middle East at the weekend, citing Ankara’s support for jihadist rebels.

“The Turkish regime reigns supreme” when it comes to “sponsors and financiers of terrorism,” Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told the United Nations general assembly.

Mr Moallem said Turkey was once again using its military occupation of part of northern Syria to cut off water supplies to much of the north of the country, endangering lives, in what he called “a war crime and a crime against humanity.”

Kurdish forces controlling the Rojava enclave have repeatedly denounced Turkey’s “weaponisation” of water supplies in the area.

Turkey’s supplies of weaponry to Syrian jihadists were first exposed by the Cumhuriyet newspaper in 2015, forcing its editor Can Dundar to flee into German exile after the government charged him with membership of a terrorist organisation. It has deployed radical Islamist fighters against both the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Mr Moallem also pointed to Turkey’s role in moving “terrorists and mercenaries — referred to by some as ‘moderate opposition’ — from Syria to Libya.” Jihadists from the Syrian conflict were sent by Turkey to fight on behalf of Libya’s UN-recognised administration against the rebel forces led by General Khalifa Haftar last winter, and helped break the siege of Tripoli. China has also pointed to Turkey’s role in facilitating the movement of Uighur separatists to fight against the Syrian government.

He said the Syrian government would “spare no effort to end the occupation by all means possible under international law” of US and Turkish forces in parts of the country.

US troops moved to secure control of Syrian oil fields in the north-east last November, with President Donald Trump embarrassing military officials and his European allies by declaring: “We’re keeping the oil. We have the oil. The oil is secure. We left troops behind only for the oil.” US Defence Secretary Mark Esper hastened to assure journalists that US troops were really in Syria to fight Islamic State terrorists.

Turkey’s UN mission said the Syrian accusations were “delusional” and added that Damascus was “responsible for death, mutilation, starvation and enforced disappearance of millions of Syrians.”