YUGOSLAV CAPITAL MAINLY FREED

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 21, 19 October 1944, Page 5

YUGOSLAV CAPITAL MAINLY FREED

(By Telegraph.—Press Assn.-—Copyright.) (Received October 18, 1 1.40 p.m.) LONDON, October 18 ' The Greek Prime Minister, M. Papandreou, and members of his Cabinet have arrived at the Piraeus, the port of Athens, aboa . a f Creek Fleet At an enthusiastic welcome the pJ’jtTd of !h= Go—k gratitude to the Allies, and said the Greek people would be guaranteed complete freedom in th tthco"i„g P ekedons. It is believed the olßeial re-entry rnto the CaP ' t The' l fi t rst I 'oodshi t p's for the starving population of Greece • 4 i- the Piraeus yesterday heavily escorted by British an S XX, The Xmbikatiou of British from a cruiser squadron at the Piraeus was c ° m P’ e^ d night Minefields which had delayed the unloading of the st and equipment have been overcome, and military supplies are Pllm ATti-Bulgarian feeling is very strong in Athens Placards have appeared reading: //We fought with you in 1941. Now go with us against Bulgaria.

The “Daily Telegraph’s” Athens correspondent reports that seven persons were killed and -10 wounded in Athens when a hand grenade was thrown as processions o£ Communists and National Democrats were passing each other last Sunday. A shot was hred (before the bomb, but it is not clear which side tired it. Tommy-guns, pistols, and rifles were fired widely after the explosion of the bomb. Greyclad Athens police, who resumed duty after the 'departure of the Germans, quelled the disturbance. Those injured included a number of spectators. The clash started swiftly and ended suddenly, and the accounts vary; but apparently a bitter political feud was responsible. . The guerrillas arc hampering the German withdrawal from Salonika, says a message from Cairo. The Germans have seized 50 women and children as hostages, 10 of whom have already been shot. The Ankara correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain says that only a few of the 50,000 or 60,000 Germans concentrated at Salonika are expected to escape from Greece. Their only escape route lies through Montenegro and northern Italy. Six thousand Germans "n the island of Rhodes and 12,000 in Crete are also likely to be trapped, because no shipping is available. Such German forces as remain on the southern Greek mainland are reported to be continuing their withdrawal, principally through Volos on the east coast, and are concentrating round Salonika (says British Official Wireless). Garrisons have been left to hold out as long as possible in certain fortified islands in the southern Aegean, such as Crete, Rhodes, Leros, and Cos. ~ . ((rpUrt The Ankara representative of lhe Times” says the Germans are reported to have blown up the great Kerkini dam on the 'Struma River. It was constructed 10 years ago and was one of the principal engineering projects in Macedonia. An Allied naval communique reports that the Aegean island of Scarpanto, in the Dodecanese group, has been freed by action of the Greek population, and a naval party from British destroyers landed at dawn yesterday and took over in the name of the United Nations. Progress in Belgrade. It is officially announced in Moscow that the Russians and Yugoslavs have reached the centre of Belgrade. More than 4000 Germans have been killed in the fighting for the city in the last two days. The latest Yugoslav report says that the Germans have been driven from all but two districts of the capital. Last night’s Soviet communique said that Bulgarian units fighting in Yugosiavia with the Yugoslavs and Russians captured Prokupljc and several other The Russians and Rumanians in northern Transylvania occupied 80 places, includin" Zalait. . The Russians fighting on the Hungarian Plain are at present encountering the biggest force of Germans they have met in the Balkans, states Reuters Moscow correspondent. Additional German panzers are arriving on the battlefield, which is moving toward the Danube VaL ley south of Budapest. The Germans need time to fortify the west bank of the Danube, which is the last natural barrier guarding the approaches to Austria. Struggle in Budapest. Budapest radio late last night interrupted its programme and broadcast an urgent order for the “return to barracks” of all soldiers in Budapest. The order was broadcast in the Hungarian and German languages. The radio did not offer any explanation. but the message, which criticized Berlin radio’s claim that the situation in Hungary is stabilized, suggests that disorder may have broken out in Budapest. There aije again unconfirmed reports that troops loyal to Horthy have surrounded Budapest and are fighting the German garrison. According to Paris radio, troops of the Hungarian First Army are fighting in Budapest and are reported to have driven out members of the Arrow Cross organization from the Ministry of the Interior. A general strike is going on in Budapest. The Swiss radio announced that the Hungarian Legation in Berne has repudiated the Szalasi Government.