ARABS DEFEATED

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 105, 28 January 1931, Page 9

ARABS DEFEATED

Italian Successes in Desert Fighting

VIGOROUS CAMPAIGN

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.

Rome, January 26.

Two Italian columns of camel corps, a squadron of armoured cars, and a number of air squadrons, after twentyfour days' fighting the Senussl, captured Et Tag, situated in the heart of a group of oases, 400 miles from the Cyrenaican coast, thereby completing the occupation of Libya.

The Italians chased the Senussi rebels for nearly 200 miles on a front of ten to twelve miles, killing a hundred and capturing many prisoners and much war material. The Senussi abandoned quantities of live stock and many women and children. The Italian losses were 4 killed and 16 wounded. The Governor and Vice-Governor aeroplaned to Et Tag and participated in the ceremony of hoisting the Italian flag.

After a short campaign in 1911, Italy took Tripoli and Cyrenaica from Turkey. During the war, while Italy and Britain were mainly occupied elsewhere, the Senussi, a great tribe of martial Arabs, gave considerable trouble, both toward Egypt and in Cyrenaica. In 1916 the British carried out a campaign against the Senussi, in which New Zealanders took a prominent part and occupied Siwa, one of the chief oases. After the war the Italians took steps to keep the Senussi in check, and now after many costly expeditions have succeeded in completing the conquest of the hinterland of their territory in North Africa.