IRAQ REVOLT

Northern Advocate, 17 August 1933, Page 5

IRAQ REVOLT

AWFUL CARNAGE COMMITTED BY IRREGULARS NON-COMBATANT VICTIMS. BRITAIN DEEPLY CONCERNED;

(United Press Association— By Elect no Telegraph,—Copyright.) (Times Cable.) (Received 9 a.m.) LONDON, August 10. “The Times” says news, has reached London that during the suppression of the recent rebellion of a section of Assyrian minority in Iraq, the Iraq forces killed 200 persons who had no connection with the revolt. Also it is reported that numbers of.villages were burned in the Dolhuk district and elsewhere, north of Mosul, where the condition of Assyrian women and children is described as pitiable. There is reason to believe that fliesd excesses were committed loss by Iraq troops than by irregular police, who are mostly Kurds who have a fetid 1 with the Assyrians, Their eommand?y - also is notoriously anti-Assyrian, r -

Nows of the event, which has been communicated to the Prime Minister, Mr MacDonald, has caused deep con* 1 corn in British circles. Sir Francis Hnmphrys, British Am- n bassador to Iraq, is hurrying to Bag- ( dad from’Norway, where he was spending a holiday. T It is fully believed that misbehaviour of the Iraq irregulars is likely toprovoke criticism at Geneva-,- - -where there has been a marked tendency to regard the British police in the capacity of the Arab Government to control its officers as dangerously optimistic. - .y Also, it is feared, the news may ,hav<3 „ a bad effect on the Assyrians who arq, guarding the British aerodromes, in Iraq. .....

OVER 300 MASSACRED. PANIC-STRICKEN VILLAGERS. '■ PLEA TO KING -F-EISAL. (Received 12.30 p.m.) * (.Times Cable.) r r -;.y..LONDON, August 16. The Assyrians were massacred near - Simal. A British official visited:.sev* oral adjacent villages filled Mtk panic-stricken women and children, !k.*, and counted 315 dead, many.-’withiu * : T two miles of the local headquarters uf •-■ - the Iraq army, apparently killed by., the so-called irregular police. ’ ,

There is scarcely any doubt that Assyrian rebels who entered Syrian' territory in July were responsible for the trouble. They promised ,to v-sitr-y <y r '' render their arms, but a small Iraq dey- : - taehmeht did not attempt to disarm- •;/ them, whereupon they, were and desroyed. , " -..1 The Northern Iraq commander-made:.* the first reprisal, ordering a dozen,., Assyrian prisoners to. be-shot_withou£ ; n 77 trial, excusing himself on. account of - the indignation at the alleged mntila-- ; tion of the dead. ,

The British Charge d’Affaiyes at...,. Bagdad has requested King Feisal to prevent such severity. - MR MaCDONALD’S HASTE. - 1 INCREASING ANXIETY. (Received 12.30 p.m.) LONDON, August 16. '; It is understood that M,r Ramsay MacDonald’s -sudden dash - te Londonfrom Lossiemouth is due to the GoVv ornment’s increasing anxiety regard* ing the Iraq massacres. There is difll*. eulty in getting Iraq to expedite at--"' - ' lion against the offenders, and grow* - ■ ing fears that the delay will pre* judicially affect the Assyrian levies.