WARFARE IN SYRIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19456, 12 October 1926, Page 13

WARFARE IN SYRIA.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST DRUSES. ORIGIN OF THE REBELLION. TACTICS OF FRENCH TROOPS. CRITICISMS OF AN OBSERVER. Serious allegations concerning the methods of the French in Syria, where French troops are carrying on guerilla warfare with the Druses, a large tribe with all the traditional fighting courage of their Arab ancestors, were made yesterday by Mr. W. 0. E. Feilding-Jones, F.R.G.S., who for the past five months has been in the thick of the fighting. Mr. Feilding-Jones, who is returning to his station in Australia, acted as correspondent for a syndicate of American papers and the Sydney Sunday Times. A series of articles written by him in Syria has been published in the Herald. "The world does not know of the real position in Syria because the French Foreign Office strictly censors any communiques," stated Mr. Feilding-Jones. "The truth is that tho French have made an awful mess of things out there, and they would do anything to get out of. Syria to save their face. They have broken their promises to the Arabs; they have done their best to antagonise tho Arabs; and they have violated the sacred Arab customs." Mr. Feilding-Jones said tly, rebellion commenced with a local rising of the Druses and gradually developed into a national rising against the French. Now tho Kurds, Syrians and Druses had combined, although the powerful Druses formed the backbone of tho opponents of the French. The French led the world to believe that Syria was pacified, but Damascus was a besieged city, the Druses holding the outside three-quarters of the city and the French the centre. Fighters Aged 13 to 70. "There is no doubt the French want to got out of Syria, but they want to do it without loss of prestige," Mr. FeildingJones said. "Franco has classed it as a religious war, but that is not true, because Mohammedans, Christians, and many other sects are opposed to them. I know tho Druses would lay down their arms to-morrow if the League of Nations would give Great Britain a mandate over Syria. Here is a nation being crucified under the French mandate. The French have no idea of the Arab mind and have adopted a wrong policy. They are trying to squeeze an orange dry for the glory of France, but they have a brave people to deal with." "The world has been fed by false communiques from the French Foreign Office,"' declared Mr. Feilding-Jones. According to French statistics something like 100,000 Druses had been killed, but the whole Druse tribe, including men, women, and children, only numbered 70,000. The Druses were enlisted at the age of 13, and the ages of their troops ranged from 13 to 70. Tho French army numbered 60.000 at the outset, but some 15,000 had been killed. "Tho Druses are well skilled in the art of warfare," stated Mr. FeildingJones. "Many of them are Arabian irregulars who were trained under Colonel Lawrence and learned the art of warfare under him. They do not pretend they can hold Syria. They want England to step in, but that does not suit the policy of the Foreign Office at present." Mr. Feilding-Jones was able to study closely the actual fighting. For a time ho was with the French Army and later was the giest of the leader of the Druses. The Druses engaged in cavalry warfare and were armed with rifles and swords 1 . The method of warfare was all much the same. Tho French would set out with 3. column of about 8000 and tho Druses would put a few hundred men in front of them and a few on their flank. The Druses would retreat, with the French in full pursuit. The Methods of the French. This tended to disorganise the French column and then the main Arab army would rush in and cut off the French ammunition supplies. Once the Arabs accomplished this they would fade away into tho desert. Tho Druses knew better than to face the French in a straight-out battle. "Tho Druses will carry on until the last man drops," stated Mr. FeildingJones. "There is no chance of them giving in to tho French." ° Speaking of French methods. Mr. Feilding-Jones declared they raised the ire of the Moslems by destroying their mosques when they captured a village Their usual practice, he said, was to knock in the sides and house their mules within the sacred walls. This was a great insult to the Moslems. When Mr. Feilding-Jones left Syria the Druses were anxious concerning their crops and future food supplies. Tho French airmen had carried on extensive bombing raids and these had the effect of destroying many of the crops. "I want to stress* two things," he added. Unofficially the French would be glad to K et out of Syria, and secondly the world is not getting a true account of what is happening there."