SPANISH TURMOIL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19121, 16 September 1936, Page 6

SPANISH TURMOIL

ASSASSINATION PLOT LEADERS OF LOYALISTS A GOVERNMENT CAPTURE TOWN LAID IN RUINS (Elec. Tel. Copyright —United Press Assn.) (Eecd. Sept. 16, 2 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 15. A message from Madrid states that, the Spanish police to-day discovered a plot to assassinate Senor Azann, the President. Senor Caballero, tDo Prime Minister, Senor La Passionaria, and General Ma’ngada, the loyalist commander on tho Somo Sierra front.

Tbo plot, is alleged to have been organised by a former Communist who is now a Fascist leader, Manuel Mateo. It. is alleged that the scheme was financed by Jorge Loring, a nephew of the noted airman. his accomplices being Juan Llovet and Santos Aranda. The two last-named have alread v been imprisoned. It is said that the assassination was delegated to eight, men who came to Madrid from Malaga and Valencia with false passports. A number have been arrested.

A drastic purge of the Spanish navy resulted in the dismissal of 2585 officers. A Government pilot, Fenix Urtubi, was outnumbered by three rebel planes in an air light, and drove straight into an opponent. Both planes crashed in flames. Urtubi was incinerated, but the rebel pilot descended by using! a parachute. He was taken prisoner. PLANE BROUGHT DOWN A Government plane brought down an insurgent plane intact at Azuava, near" Saragossa, capturing both occupants. It was one of a squadion endeavouring to provision the besieged insurgent city of Huesca by dropping tins of meat. hard bread and ice, but most of the packages have fallen in the Government lines. The Barcelona correspondent of The Times says that Sietaino, which after changing hands several times in the loyalist advance to lluesca, fell to the Government on Saturday in a mass of ruins. The majority of the 400 rebel defenders were killed. Refugees from Huesca report. that when the Government planes bombed the town, 150 men, women and children were taken from their homes and executed in tho public square by the order, of Colonel Solans, whom the rebels, who were quarrelling among themselves, later executed for incompetence.

The Casablanca correspondent of The Times says that Rene Bru,. a- newsreel operator, who arrived by steamer from Tangier, was arrested by insurgents for filming incidents after* the capture of Badajoz. He says he filmed 1000 prisoners in tbo, bullring at Anandaleja, where they were awaiting execution. Bru was arrested on returning to Seville. The arrest is believed to be the result of his denunciation by jealous colleagues. ITo was threatened' with death,_ but his firm sent by air judiciously cut copies of his films. lie was then released.