Loss of cities blow to Somoza Govt

Press, 19 June 1979, Page 9

Loss of cities blow to Somoza Govt

NZPA-Reuter Managua

The Nicaraguan President (General Anastasio Somoza) is reported to have suffered a severe set-back with the loss of two big cities in the .north to Sandinist guerrillas who are trying to topple him.

An official communique said the National Guard had withdrawn from its command post in the secondlargest city, Leon, and official sources said this now left the city in Sandinist hands. The National Guard troops had been under siege for several days. The sources said the Sandinists had also taken the city of Matagalpa, about 124 km north of the capital, Managua. Leon lies about 90km north of Managua.

The sources said the withdrawal of troops from the cities was a strategic move, aimed at surrounding the Sandinists. The commander of the Leon garrison, General Gonzalo Evertz, was seriously wounded.

The fighting in the capital, where the Sandinists are in control of the slum areas, dragged on into its ninth day. The National Guard, which launched a drive backed by artillery, light tanks, and aircraft to clear the slums, gained some success in the southern area of Managua. On the diplomatic front, President Somoza. whose family has ruled for more than 40 years, suffered another set-back when Ecuador became the third country to withdraw diplomatic recog-

nition of Nicaragua. Mexico and Costa Rica have already done so. Five South American countries — all members of the Andean Pact — announced on Sunday that they had formally recognised the Sandinist guerrillas as combatants fighting on the same footing as President Somoza’s men. The countries involved are Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. All except Ecuador still recognise President Somoza’s Government. A stream of families of Government officials was yesterday fleeing the country, most of them to Miami in the United States on a Lanica Airlines flight, the only commercial company flying in and out of Managua. Lanica belongs to the Somoza family.