GREECE INVADED

Grey River Argus, 20 November 1946, Page 5

GREECE INVADED

FROM YUGOSLAVIA

By Guerrilla Forces

LONDON, Nov. 18.

The Greek Premier, Mr Tsaldaris, called on the British and American Ambassadors at Athens to-day and handed them a memorandum alleging that support had been given to Greek guerrillas by Greece's northern neighbours. “The 'limes” Athens correspondent says:—lt has been established that guerrillas in the mountains have murdered many villagers, including women a'nd children. The situation in other districts in Greece Is most disquieting. In the mountains the rebels’ audacity has reached the stage where they do not hesitate to proclaim compulsory mobilisation. In the Velenzia district guerrilla headquarters called under’ its colours within 24 hours all the able-bodied 1939-45 r*la.ss6s» Reports from elsewhere indicate a most alarming intensification oi guerrilla activity.

Invaders from Yugosl: FORCED BACK AFTER LONG BATTLE. (Rec. 10.51.) LONDON, Nov. 19. A battle was mentioned by M. Tsaldaris, Greek Prime Minister, in which Greek Spitfires participated. It. began on Sunday at dawn, when heavily armed guerrillas crossed the Greek border from Yugoslavia. The invaders attacked Greek Government posts in the Mount Skra areaThe battle lasted until mid-day on Monday. Then a Greek relieving column finally forced the attackers back across the Yugoslav frontier.' says a Daily Telegraph’s Athens correspondent. Reuter’s Athens correspondent says:—The Greek Prime Minister’s memorandum has listed the order of incidents since October, including 27 on the Greek-Albanian border, due it is stated to “Albanian soldiers attacking Greek outposts”; also 24 similar incidents on the Greek-Bulgar-ian border. The memorandum also claimed that the incidents had occurred without provocation. It enumerated evidence to show that in many cases, the sole object of the attacks was to cover the infiltration Into Greece of “anarchist-Communist' bands.”

The memorandum detailed the alleged training of ba’nd'its.in a Yugoslav province of Voivodina. The Exchange Telegraph’s Athens correspondent says Greece has decided to se'nd a Note to the United’ Nations under Article 14 of the Charter in connection with frontier incidents in order to remove the threat to the peace of the Balkans. Evangelia Bidga, the 20J-year-old wife, of a Greek Army officer, with a machine-gun bullet in her thigh, was among the first wounded to reach Salonika from Skra. She told the Associated Press Salonika correspondent the story of the attack o'n a village.’ - ' ' _ "We were herded into- a "Straw shed and machine-gunned,’’ she said. "Three of our people, our household were killed', and three were wounded. Then the ba'ndits set fire to the shed. The straw was wet and the fire went out.” She added that she was sent to hospital with her 11-year-old niece who had six bullet wounds. • her eight-yar-old nephew who had been shot through the leg and an expectant mother who had been shot twice.