Egypt’s Forces On Full Alert

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31935, 12 March 1969, Page 13

Egypt’s Forces On Full Alert

' N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) CAIRO, March 11. Egypt’s Armed Forces were on round-the-clock alert today amid warnings to the people to expect new flare-ups along the Suez Canal. Cairo’s authoritative “Al Ahram” newspaper, which reflects official Egyptian views, said the Army was in a state of maximum alert to meet any new threat and added sombrely that the situation threatened “a new violent explosion.”

i The warning came as i Egyptians were still {mourning the country’s Chief of Staff, General IA b d u 1 Moneim Riad, killed by an Israeli shell on Sunday as Israeli and Egyptian troops fought bitter artillery duels across the canal for the second successive day. Bursts of Egyptian machinegun fire, punctuated by rifle shots, were reported by. the Israelis from three sectors to-day-south of the Great Bitter Lake, the Port Tewfik area, and a point about eight miles north of Port Tewfik. A military spokesman in Tel Aviv said that one Israeli soldier was slightly wounded. “Al Ahram” said the Israelis had been seen rebuilding positions shattered in the artillery duels, in which Egypt claims to have killed or wounded about 100 Israeli soldiers and destroyed some 40 tanks and several rocket sites. Arab League ministers now

holding three days of talks in Cairo last night heard another call for closer Arab co-opera-tion in the next stages of the battle.

Leading delegates paid tribute to General Riad—promoted posthumously to full general by President Nasser. The foreign minister of Jordan (Mr Abdel Moneim Rifai) said that Israel was negating chances of a peaceful settlement and added that Arab States must be prepared to make the necessary decisions the present situation demanded. The Egyptian Foreign Minister (Mr Mahmoud Riad)

yesterday told the United Nations’ chief Middle-East observer, Lieutenant-General Odd Bull, to note Israel’s “large-scale aggression against civilians and economic installations in the U.A.R.” General Bull was also asked to convey Egypt’s views to U Thant, the United States Sec-retary-General, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Mr Riad told the United Nations observer that Egypt would consider any Iraeli reinforcement of forces in occupied Arab territories as a “new aggression.” Such reinforcement would also be considered a "continuation of the defiance of the Security Council resolution,” he said. General Odd Bull leaves today for Ismailia to inspect United Nations observation posts before returning to his Jerusalem headquarters. Israeli officials claimed that Egyptian front line fortifications along the Suez Canal were dealt a severe blow during eight hours of fierce artillery bombardment over the week-end.

Egyptian oil installations at Suez, the officials said, were heavily damaged during the two artillery duels, which flared along a 70-mile front from Suez to El Kantara on Saturday and Sunday. Israel says Egyptian forces started both battles. One commentator said that Egypt had been dealt the heaviest blow since the sixday war in June, 1967.