MURDERS IN RUHR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18348, 14 March 1923, Page 9

MURDERS IN RUHR.

FRENCHMEN SHOT.

BODIES FCUND IN STREET.

FATAL AFFRAY FOLLOWS.

CROWD ATTACKS PATROL.

FIVE GERMANS KILLED.

HOSTAGES SEIZED.

By Tele graph- Press Association—Copyright (Received 8.5 p.m.) A, and N.Z- LONDON. March 12. The dead bodies of a French officer, Lieutenant Coif in. and a French railway expert named Jely were found laid side by side on the pavement at Buer, near They had been shot with revolvers from behind by men lying in ambush. After the finding of the bodies, French secret service men learned that a certain German had boasted that he would bring down * Frenchman, and his house was raided. His wife pretended to be surprised at tho visit, and said that her husband was away, but the French found him hiding in a wardrobe. He and an accomplice were being taken to a French post when they tried to escape, and both men were shot with revolvers. He curfew was operating at the time, but although inhabitants were forbidden to be in the streets, many were exchanging views in side streets. When they heard the shots, some apparently ran into the thoroughfare where the two Germans were lying dead. They abused the French and tried to rush the patrol. The French fired, killing five, and the rest of tho crowd fled.

Several prominent citizens, in addition to the burgomaster and the chief of police of Burr, arc held as hostages. All the picture theatres and cafes have been closed, and the townslolk are forbidden the use of the streets after seven o'clock at night. The town has teen fined 100,000,000 marks. . The murders caused intense excitement in the Ruhr, as it is an entirely new departure from the German campaign. It is feared the event shows that the German Nationalists are embarking on guerilla warfare. as they have threatened, especially at Recklinghausen, a hotbed of anti-French sentiment. A secret society called the Young Germans' Association, has headquarters at Recklinghausen, and the police force are suspect. M. Poincare, in a speech, declared that the Buer crime would be mercilessly avenged. He intended to discuss with General Degontte at Brussels measures to suppress the German Nationalist organisations. The German Government officially declares that the Frenchmen killed at Buer were done to death by a couple of French soldiers.