CONFLICT IN ATHENS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 136, 6 December 1944, Page 6

CONFLICT IN ATHENS

ROLE OF BRITISH

FEW ROUNDS FIRED

<By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.) Hec. 1.45 p.m. LONDON, December 5. British troops several times intervened in the fighting in Athens during the day, states Renter's Athens correspondent. The street fighting moved nearer the heart of the city, and there is still no sign of any solution of* the Uncertain political situation. New and conflicting stories about political moves circulated hourly. The ELAS attack on the headquar-. ters.of the EDES Party, which is near •the main railway station, was strong. British soldiers in full battle order are guarding the street leading to British headquarters, which are wired. British troops are receiving tributes for the manner in which they have peacefully stopped and disarmed large parties of ELAS troops without a shot being fired. - British troops so far have fired only a- few rounds. This was when the joint British and Greek naval headQuarters at Piraeus were attacked. The Athens correspondent of the Associated Press, in an eye-witness account of the ELAS units' attack on the EDE's headquarters, says that knots of people stood in the doorways of streets leading to the railway station Some, including women, were armed. Within 10 yards of the besieged EDE's headquarters half a dozen men were maintaining a sniping feud with the EDE's men holding a large block of flats.: One said: "There are Fascists iii there. They collaborated with the Germans. You British leave us alone, and'we will kill them all." Two ELAS men were killed within a; few, minutes. The ELAS men then appeared dragging a sack of homemade -bombs.*. One produced a two-gallonpetrolr-vtin bomb and'lighted the fuse^- He then ran crouching along the; front of the EDE's building and dropped the bomb hi the main entrance. TERRIFIC EXPLOSION. There was a terrific explosion, and flames leapt up as the oaken door crashed in. The crowd of spectators cheered and flung more grenades into the building/ The Athens correspondent of "The •Times" says that a seventh EAM •Minister, has resigned from the Papan■dreou Government. He 'is General Saliyannis, who received an anonymous1 telephone call warning him that unless he resigned within 24 hours he 'iwould be considered a traitor to EAM f and killed. Normal life in Athens has completely ceased owing to the all-embrac-arig general strike and the introduction of martial law. The strike is actually preventing the unloading of relief ships. It is pointed out that ships, in the present "world shortage, will not •be sent where unloading is delayed in such a manner. There is also evidence that political patties are preventing the proper distribution of supplies. This might cause the^Allied Governmentsto reconsider their relief programme for Greece.