AMBUSH SUCCEEDS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 133, 29 February 1936, Page 9

AMBUSH SUCCEEDS

Abyssinians Claim a Victory LARGE ITALIAN FORCE Badoglio Reports Intense Air Activity By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. i London, February 27. Ras Ayelu claims that he ambushed and defeated a large Italian force, an' Addis Ababa message states. Ten Italian aeroplanes conducted a gas-bomb raid on the northern front which did not hurt the troops but killed a number of civilians. Marshal Badoglio reports to Rome that there is intense air activity on the Eritrean and Somali fronts. He adheres to his intention not to suspend the campaign during the rainy season. BOMBING OF HOSPITAL Statement Retracted Adowa, February 27. The Polish doctor, Dr, Maximillian Belau, has retracted the statement he made on December 7, which was forwarded to the League of Nations, declaring that Italian aeroplanes bombed the Red Cross hospital at Dessie. He explains that- he signed this statement without reading it, being forced to do so while performing a surgical operation in the presence of Haile Selassie. It was reported from Geneva on December 9 that the Abyssinian Foreign Minister had telegraphed to the League a copy of a declaration signed by seven international Red Cross doctors describing in detail the bombing of Dessie, which the doctors “stigmatised before the whole civilised world.” A Rome message said it was semi-of-ficially denied from Adigrat that bombing atrocities occurred at Dessie. It was as-, serted that the place was defended by 10,090 troops and that all the 18 aeroplanes were hit by bullets. It was known that the. Red Cross hospital did not contain wounded and was only sheltering combatants, nearly all the tents being marked with a red cross. The bombing was limited to pointe of military importance. Dr. Belau and an assistant, Thaddeus Meclyusky, who remained in a cavern with revolvers in their hands on the last night of the Italian assault, surrendered immediately the Italians captured Amba Aradam.