  We report on the analysis of XMM-Newton observations of the non-thermal
shell-type supernova remnant HESS J1731-347 (G353.6-0.7). For the first time
the complete remnant shell has been covered in X-rays, which allowed direct
comparison with radio and TeV observations. We carried out a spatially resolved
spectral analysis of XMM-Newton data and confirmed the previously reported
non-thermal power-law X-ray spectrum of the source with negligible variations
of spectral index across the shell. On the other hand, the X-ray absorption
column is strongly variable and correlates with the CO emission thus confirming
that the absorbing material must be in the foreground and reinforcing the
previously suggested lower limit on distance. Finally, we find that the X-ray
emission of the remnant is suppressed towards the Galactic plane, which points
to lower shock velocities in this region, likely due to the interaction of the
shock with the nearby molecular cloud.
