FLAMES OF REVOLT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 14, 17 January 1941, Page 7

FLAMES OF REVOLT

WHOLE COUNTRY

WAR DRUMS THUMPING

ITALIANS ANXIOUS

REBELS GETTING SUPPLIES

LONDON, January 15,

A correspondent of the "Daily Mail" on the Abyssinian frontier says that the Negus's 44 war drums tonight began thumping a call to arms from the mountains fringing Abyssinia. Italian and Ethiopian legionnaires for several nights now have been listening to the mysterious message from the drums floating across the hills and forests of Africa and, penetrating the rocky hide-outs of the Abyssinian patriots. Almost the whole of Abyssinia is seething with revolt, according to a dispatch from the Abyssinian frontier by a special correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph." The spread of the rebellion, he states, is causing the Italians such anxiety that the Viceroy, the Duke of Aosta, has visited the Fascist troops in the! Goja area in order to ascertain the worst about the situation and to seek to stiffen the garrison's morale, which has been weakened by ambushes,' and constant guerrilla warfare and surprise attacks against food convoys. General Nasi, who commanded the Italian force which occupied British Somaliland, is leading strong forces from Addis Ababa to Goja in an attempt to quell the revolt. There have been costly ambushes for Italy on the great main road from Gondar to east of Lake Tsana. The Italians further south have been forced to evacuate' Sidamo and also a post near Maji, and more trouble is begining to boil up in the Shoa country. ACTIVITIES CO-ORDINATED. The correspondent says that three Abyssinian leaders are co-ordinating their activities in a reasoned plan of warfare. Their forces are fed by supplies from the Sudan and the Italian army. Abyssinian warriors recently captured 150 rifles when they stormed ah Italian post at Gubba. Even before abandoning Gubba the Italians there were in a terrible plight. They had no huts and the only shelter they coulct obtain from the burning sun was from huge rocks, under which they lived and took cover. Most of them needed medical attention, but their doctor had gone mad. The 25 officers of the | j garrison were mainly occupied in shamming sick in order to leave by plane. Eighty troops escaped with five ■ light machine-guns, and eventually the Italians. decided to retire but they jumped from the frying pan into the fire as Abyssinians closed in on j their rearguard, killing eight and wounding many. A food convoy sent i to relieve the Italians was also am- J bushed. The Italians are reported to have abandoned Gubba because ,he commander was convinced that if they remained the entire personnel would desert. ,_. _ =-

Such of the cable news on this page as is j so headed has appeared In "The Times" and I is cabled to Australia and New Zealand by special permission. It should be understood i that the opinions are not those of "The j Times" unless expressly stated to ba so. | By special arrangement Reuters world ser- ■ vice in addition to other special sources of i information is used in the compilation of the j overseas Intelligence published in this issue, and all rights therein ia Australia and New' Zealand are reserved