SITUATION IN LEVANT
FRENCH COMPLAINTS AGAINST BRITISH ARMY UNITS SAID TO BE ISOLATED (N.Z, Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 7 p.m.) PARIS, June 11. The Paris radio on Monday night broadcast a Government statement that British troops that afternoon had occupied the French military post at Palmyra, in central Syria. The radio added: "As British forces now control all the telephone and telegraph lines, the French Army units in the Middle East have been isolated." General Oliva Roget, the former French commander in Damascus, has arrived in Beirut from Paris. No reason is given for his visit. (General Roget, who was in command of the French forces at the time of the fighting in Damascus, was dismissed his command, according to one report, at the request of the British.) "French Foreign Office sources tonight indicate that the position in the Levant is growing worse and they allege that the British authorities are not taking measures to protect the French," reported the Paris correspondent of the British United Press on Monday. "It is claimed that the tension is mounting and that the situation is becoming intolerable for the French. There have been disturbances and numerous attacks against the French at Aleppo, and nine people are reported to have been killed near Damascus, although the situation in Damascus is stated to be calm. "The French Foreign Office claims that French troops and Syrian special troops have been evacuated to camps which are 'very like prisons,' and that large numbers of Syrians are deserting. "It is stated in Paris that the British Government apparently wants to iron out the difficulties, but that the local British authorities in the Levant are acting in direct opposition to French interests. "The French Government insists that a five-Power conference is the* only solution, as Russia and .' merica would then act as mediators. France has not yet received official replies to her Note to Britain, America, China.and Russia.
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Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24591, 13 June 1945, Page 7
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318SITUATION IN LEVANT Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24591, 13 June 1945, Page 7
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