ABYSSINIAN CLASH

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18583, 18 December 1934, Page 6

ABYSSINIAN CLASH

DETAILS EXPLAINED DISPUTE OVER BORDERS BRITISH WITHDRAWAL (British Official Wireless,) Roc. 2 p.m. RUGBY. Dec. IV; '} lie situation on the 'Somaliland and Ethiopian frontier was the subject of a statement, by Sir John Simon in the House of Commons. He said that on Novoimior 23 the Anglo-'Ethiopian boundary commission, which lately completed the demarcation, of the frontier between Ethiopia and British Somaliland, and which also was charged with the. investigation of wat-er-and gracing areas which for generations had been used by nomadic British Somali tribes, arrived in the vicinity 1 of the wells at IHiial and Wardar, which always had been so used. These wells tie in the neighborhood of the undefined border between Italian Somaliland mid 'Ethiopia, and had been in Italian oecupat ion for some time. T!io Italian Government previously had been notified of the joint commission's movements, but, unfortunately, the information laid not been passed on to the officer commanding the Italian troops at the wells, and he declined to permit the joint commission to enter the area. A formal protest was recorded by'the British representative, Colonel Clifford, and his Ethiopian colleague, the commission subsequently withdrawing to a camp 20 kilometres distant. On December 5, a serious encounter, in which the joint commission was not in any way concerned, occurred between Italian colonial troops and Ethiopian forces in the vicinity of the wells. Since then, the Ethiopian Government had made an offer to the Italian Government to submit the dispute to arbitration, and they had now reported the matter to the League, of Nations.

As the disputed ownership of these wells had given rise to local unrest, Sir John Simon said lie had instructed thd British representative at Roe and Addis Ababa, prior to Hie above incident, to recommend the desirability of an early demarcation of the frontier. Before news of the clash on December 5, the Italian Government had informed the British Government of its willingness to allow Colonel Clifford and his Ethiopian colleague to enter the area of the wells and carry out the work. As soon as news of the clash was, re-, ceived, instructions were immediately dispatched ! o Colonel Clifford to withdraw from the affected area, similar instructions being sent by the Emperor of Ethiopia to the Abyssinian commission.