THE TROUBLE IX EAST AFRICA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 17 April 1901, Page 71

THE TROUBLE IN EAST AFRICA.

j AN IMPORTANT PUNITIVE EXPEDITION. The following, taken from the London Daily Expiess, explains the cables recently published concerning the Abyssmian expedition against the "Mad Mullah": — Important developments are expected shortly in British East Africa. A la:ge foro3 of Indian troops and of friendly Somalis is being rapidly massed at Berbera in preparation for an expedition which will shortly start for the interior. For a long time past trouble has been brewing in the Hinterland of Somalihnd. It ha.s been an open secret that the tenure of the British East Africa Protectorate by tho handful of British officials in the coun- | try is little more than nominal. Immediately i on the roast the natives are friendly enough, j but where the influence of Colonel Hayes j Sadler, the Consul, is not directly felt, the i " Protectorate " of Great Britain is a very flimsy affair indeed. The whole territory of Somaliland may be paid to be held in disputed possession, j Originally annexed by Egypt in 1875, the ( greater part of the Northern Horn — as the i territory is called from its geographical position on the coast line — came under British protection in 1884. Menslik of Abyssinia, France, and Italy all lay claim to various " spheres of influence,'' and long and intricate negotiations delimiting boundaries have led to several treaties with these Powers. Mohammedans by religion, the Somahs are a strangely mixed tribe, having a great deal of Arab with not a little of negro in their blood. Though akin to the Ethiopian*, they have little in common with their neig'aborus, and religious wars have been incessant. TJXBEIDLED AKTAECHY. Since the downfall of Mahdism and the capUire of the Khalifa, the Somali territory has constantly been raided by armed bands of the Khalifa's Dervish followers, who, driven out of the Soudan, have wandered south and east to elude pursuit, and have so far infected the nomadic tribes as to cause vast territories to be given over to utter anarchy. There is also considerable talk of tl.e new Mahdism which is springing up, having for its high priest a Somali mullah, one Addullah Ashur, an astute follower of the late Khalifa, who has arrogated to himself the titles of his former master, as the Sheikh Abdullah formerly usurped the mantle of the Mahdi. The grave danger ©f. t_£ fisting state of

affairs has been 'Otognised fen time, and it is piobablo that a gieat c- I pcrli(ic:i would I'avo bcon undertaken l.i-t Jiar had n<)t our biiinU been so full 111 Koutli Afiic.i. ! Nov^, appaiontly. the expedition can no j lorp,rr bp dolayed, aiid, as no home troops cm be c p.ned, an, experiment is to bo made ' of attempting the v\ork entirely \v Ith India'i j tioop- — ofTicorcd, cf cource, by Engli^ii ofiicPi't. Tl'cip is a suggestion — though it i? not ypt officially c')iiGi:n o d — that oui loire v. ill act I 111 r oujurcu >n with en army 'ei.t by ilcunlik, a. nd coippo-rd of Shoan tioop . ' At 1 m conjunction " is rather a looe pin a f\ ard 1 H may be fiat while the t*;o expedition' j have a common aim, their operation 1 - will I be ei'tiie'y clutmct. TwrxT^ inors\xn teoop«. The e\prdition, m vvli.c'i some 20 000 I t 'oop- — Friendhe° and Indian.. — 0 ill b" cmiplovcd. will be under the eommai.d of CoVmcl R\iaviic, t^c veil kr^vvu c\plo»Pi" of ! E^inai'Jaud. who will ha' e rt th him from ,20to 30 subordinate Eiituh officer*. The I Indum troops hrve not yet all arrived at I Rcrbcra. — nir r' )r!: opposite Aden — vvl.ith is the base of operations. j Tb.ey are expected shortly, and v ptart i will be made towards the end of Miroh or in the beginning. of April. At present operations are actually in progress on a small scale against the Ogaden Somaii?. Xew= of 1 sharp fighting at Samia^a reached London ree:nt!y, in which it wai^ claimed that 250 of the enemy bad been killed by Colonel Ternrn's foice. i The immediate objective has, naturally, not been divulged, but it is understood that the oxpedit'on will proceed in a southeily duecfon 'to drive t'.e enemy so as to pi event Uganda, which is pcrmanentlj' in a somewhat dangerous state, fiom becoming affected. Transport will be a matter of consic'eiablc difficulty, tracks without water havnig to be covered. The Somahs have a large supply of camels, however, and others aie being imported. That the authorities expect the expedition to be out of touch of supplies for a long stretch of lime U evidenced by the fact that cac'i officer is allowed five camels for his personal kit, etc. One of tbe features of this expedition, which may yet develop into quite a moderate sized "show," is the secrecy with which a'l arrangements have been and are bemg made. The authorities are evidently extremely j apxious not to have too much attention di- • rected to their hctle xilans for t' c time b%iig.