FLEEING – ARMY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22388, 7 April 1936, Page 11

FLEEING - ARMY

RAIN OF BOMBS ITALIAN AIR ATTACKS FUGITIVES IN PANIC WEAPONS ABANDONED By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright (Received April 6. 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, April 5 The Daily Mail's correspondent at Makale says that fugitives from the Emperor Haile Selassie's army, are clogging the passes south of Lake Ashangi. They have abandoned their weapons and uniforms, and are being bombed and machine-gunned by every available Italian aeroplane. The Emperor himself, and Has Kasa and Has Seyoum, with a handful of followers, are struggling toward Dessye. Sixty-four tons of explosives have been dropped in the past two days on the fleeing Abyssinians in the neighbourhood of Quoram, and all available aeroplanes, including those from the base at Massawa, are being employed The Rome correspondent of the Times says a report is current that on Sunday Italian troops reached Lake Tsana. A message from Borne says the general impression is that future Italian operations will resemble occupation rather than conquest. It is expected that flying columns will quickly penetrate Central Abyssinia. In a copyright message the Addis Ababa correspondent of the Times says the Government is now certain that the railway bridge across the Hawash Biver will be bombed very soon. The Italian Government has since December 20 made urgent representations to the French Government of its desire to bomb the permanent way of the railway from Addis Ababa to Jibouti in French Somaliland, but has ahvays been informed that Franco would consider such an attack on French property an unfriendly act.

EMPEROR'S MESSAGE OFFICIAL DENIAL GIVEN " MALICIOUS PROPAGANDA " LONDON. April 5 A despatch from Addis Ababa states that the reported message from the Emperor Haili Selassie to the Empress: "There is nothing left for you to do but to pray for me," is described by Mr. Herouy, Foreign Minister, as malicious and lying propaganda put out by the Italians in the hope of discrediting the Emperor among his own people. The Government flatly denies that the Emperor intends to abdicate or sue for peace. A_ BRITAIN'S RIGHTS LAKE TSANA DISTRICT OBSERVANCE BY ITALY RUGBY, April 5 The Italian Ambassador, Signor D. Grandi, informed Sir Robert Vansittart, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, that the Italian Government wished to reaffirm its previous assurance that the rights of Great Britain in regard to the Lake Tsana district as secrtred by existing treaties would be scrupulously observed. >