HEAVY TOLL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 59, 10 March 1936, Page 7

HEAVY TOLL.

BATTLE CASUALTIES. Intense Activity in North Abyssinia. BOMBING OF HOSPITALS. United Tress Association.—Copyright. (Received 10 a.m.) . LONDON, March 9. A communique from Marshal Badoglio does not refer to a truce. On the contrary, it declares that along the entire Eritrean front intense activity continues. For the furtherance of operations detachments of the second line are proceeding with mopping up. The total Italian losses in the second Tembien battle were:— 19 officers killed and 07 wounded. 236 Italian troops killed and 831 wounded. 30 Eritreans killed and 119 wounded. Enemy losses totalled 15,000 dead and wounded.

Territories recently occupied total 2000 square miles. , A message from Dcssye states that Abyssinians formed a now line 011 the 1 plain south of Amba Alagi, completely holding up the Italian advance. They ; hope to hold the line until the rains destroy the Italian communications. The morale of the Abyssinians appears unshaken. Three Italian 'planes crashed in flames near Lake Ashangi. Simultaneously with the news that , Italy had suspended hostilities came reports from Addis Ababa of the heavy bombing of Erga Alem. It is not certain whether the bombardment of Erga Alem occurred before or after the truce, regarding which it is impossible to obtain confirmation. "The War Is Still On." A message from Rome says that an official at the Ministry of Propaganda declared: —"It is impossible to make a statement. As far as we are concerned the war is still on." When shown an advance copy of an Italian newspaper carrying the news of the truce in flaming headlines, the official declined to comment. The British ambulance was also bombed for the third time. It appears that the latter outrage occurred _on Saturday while the Red Cross officials in London were telegraphing Abyssinia for details of the second bombing. It is believed that in consequence of the successive attacks the elaboratelyequipped ambulance unit has been wiped out. The personnel, however, is still striving to carry on. British Government Protests. Official confirmation has been received in London from the. British Minister in Addis Ababa, Sir Sydney Barton, that the British ambulance camp near Quoram was again bombed on March 4. Sir Eric Druinmond, British Ambassador at Rome, conveyed to Signor Fulvio Suvich, the Under-Secretary for Fore i«rn Affairs, the British Governprotest regarding the bombing of the same ambulance 011 Maich .S. In response to the Ambassador s request, Si-nor Suvich undertook to institute a thorough inquiry into the occurrence, and to take measures to prevent its recurrence. An official protest against the» bombinrat Quoram, signed by Mr Herouy, the Abyssinian Foreign Minister, «as handed to the League of *ations yesterday in the following terms "The Ethiopian Government again / a protest against the second enters a Potest R(jd Cross ambulance° near Quoram. • There Cl °l h a0 pily, none killed or wounded, were, happn>» , it] tle slc k as the staff, l°Sf^ movcd from the' and wound- e £> { t]ie bombing took TS Red Cross, ambulance and British 2 all of dimensions, were, howflaS"' loft prominently displayed all over , e\ei, 1 14- js impossible foi the ; the . Red Cross societies ; Ethiopian work if to continue abandon their ambu'civilisers.'" ,