Cost of revolt

Press, 20 September 1978, Page 8

Cost of revolt

NZPA Managua The insurrection against the regime of President Anastasio Somoza has already been more destructive than the 1972 earthquake, which killed 10,000 people and caused more than SUSSOOM worth of damage, observers in Nicaragua have said. But they add that the full results of the bitter clashes between the insurgents and the National Guard will probably never be known. Since September 9, rebellions have blazed up in at least nine of the country s 18 regions, and the insurrectionary movement was strong enough to make the Government lose control of the situation. The Government officially announced on Monday that fighting had ended in Leon,

Matagalpa, Masaya, and Rivas. But unconfirmed reports said that battles were continuing at Esteli Penas Blancas, Chinandega, and Boaco. Four cities in which infantry, backed by heavy artillery, were trying to choke off the insurrection were bombarded.

Thousands of people have fled the cities, abandoning all their property. Some of them have gone to El Salvador, Honduras, and Costa Rica, all of which border on Nicaragua. Others have gone by air to Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Colombia. The poorest have remained in Nicaragua, fleeing from one city to another to avoid the fighting. Many refugees have gravitated to the capital and have had to settle in the ruins of the old city that was destroyed by the 1972 earthquake.