LOYALISTS’ PLIGHT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23707, 14 January 1939, Page 13

LOYALISTS’ PLIGHT

A SERIES OF REVERSES REBELS STILL SWEEPING ON NEW LINES FIERCELY ATTACKED (United Press Association) (By Electric Tclegrapli—Copyright) LONDON, Jan. 12. The Daily Telegraph’s Hendaye correspondent points out that the loyalist morale has suffered in the past three weeks. The loyalists have been consistently beaten, and the men dread another beating. The flower of the loyalist army perished in a series of encounters. The rebels, after subduing Agramunt. are now fiercely attacking the now loyalist lines established east of Mont Blanch, complete possession of which the loyalists still dispute. The Hispano Moroccan divisions, after taking Moralanueve, captured Falset, guarding the approaches to Tarragona and placirig the invaders within 10 miles of the Mediterranean.

The loyalists in the Tortosa pocket are retreating headlong in order to avoid encirclement. ESTREMADURA FRONT LOYALISTS ENCIRCLE TOWN BARCELONA, Jan. 12. The loyalists at Estremadura have completely surrounded the Santos mountains, enclosing the key towns of Penarroya and Belmez. The Defence Minister has called up all males to the age of 45 years as members of labour battalions, which will be sent to the front line. Half the personnel of war industries staffs will be drafted to the army, while all supplementary war industries and food agencies will be militarised. The mobilisation affects between 75,000 and 100,000 men. ATTACK ON BRITISH VESSEL PROTEST LODGED AT BURGOS (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, Jan. 12. As a result of an examination of the circumstances connected with the attack on the British steamer Marionga, Britain has lodged a protest with Burgos, together with a request that the incident. should be fully investigated. A message from London on December 29 read: —Lloyd’s agent at Gibraltar reports that the British steamer Marionga was bombed near Valencia, and that the crew had taken to the boats. STARVING CHILDREN NEARLY ONE MILLION STOCKHOLM, Jan. 12. “Nearly 1,000,000 children in Republican Spain are actually starving,” declared Mr Malcolm Lilliehook, a commissioner on the International Commission for the Assistance of Child Refugees. “Only 50 per cent, out of 4,000,000 have sufficient food to prevent physical degeneration. The rebel children require more fish liver oil and milk. Thousands of loyalists have not seen bread for weeks. Five hundred thousand, mostly from two to four years old, are most Dressing cases and. need outside help.”