MAD MULLAH RAID.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 110, 15 June 1914, Page 5

MAD MULLAH RAID.

TRAITORS IN BERBERA.

FRIENDLIES SPEARED.

Sixty-two of the friendlies were murdered by the Mullah's dervish raiders who fired into the town of Berbera last month, and 300 camels were hamstrung, wrotes Alan Ostler, special correspondent of the London "Express," from Berbera, under date April 12. The dervishes had two men killed, and lost two ponies.

It was two o'clock on the morning of March 13. The moon was at its full, and the night was hardly darker than some English days. The raiders came in, about forty strong, through the Meriyeh Pass, and on their way they passed close by a Government illaloe (native observation) post. They gave out that they were a party of Government messengers on the way to Berbera, and, either when coming or when in flight, or both, they seem to have murdered all caravans and persons whom they encountered who would be likely to give any news of their movements. They butchered without distinction, as is their habit, spearing men, women, and children impartially. Lest buzzards and hawks, by gathering to the feast, should indicate the whereabouts of the marauders, the bodies were covered over with piled camel-harios —the thick, heavy matting on which the camels' loads are carried. Because of this, it was not known for some time how many people had been killed. When the dervishes came within sight of the town they split their party into two, and attacked from the south and from the east. They dismounted and fired about a hundred and fifty rounds into the town. Two of the inhabitants were wounded, and one of the most conspicuous houses shows five bullet marks on the walls. Probably the dervishes supposed it was the Commissioner 's residence. TOWN IN A PANIC.

At the sound of the firing the 15,000 sleeping natives woke in the wildest terror. In a moment the town was alive with panic, and a black, howling mob poured across the Maidan and along the seashore. Many dashed blindly into the sea, some managed to swim out to the dhows at anchor in the harbour, others fled along the shore and did not stop until they came to Bulhar. Meanwhile, the English officials were coming down from the Shaab, the quarter in which the official residences are, and the town police were falling in. The jemadar of police had brought word to the District Commissioner, Captain J. L. Berne, that a party of dervishes was on its way to attack Berbera, and even as he was delivering his message the sound of the firing rang out. Captain Berne went to the ActingCommissioner, Mr Archer, and they, with the secretary, Mr Sanderson, went into the town. Here they found Mr H. M. O'Byrne, Chief of Customs, and the town police. By this time the firing had ceased, and the raiders, mounting their ponies, dashed off. The District Commissioner, with a party of police mounted on camels, followed them as far as Biyu-Gorah (where a detachment of the Camel Corps has since been stationed under Mr Gibb), and was joined there by a detachment of the 73rd Carnatic Infantry, led by Captain Bell. However, there was nothing to be done. The dervishes had made good their retreat, and it was hopeless to think of pursuing them, so the party returned to Berbera and reported. The dervishes also reported to the Mullah. The natives say that they brought him sea water and harun bush, which grows near Berbera, as proof of what they had accomplished. RAISING THE MULLAH'S PRESTIGE.

Such are the details of the raid, sufficient to show that the incident cannot be dismissed as of no importance. It was a demonstration intended to raise the Mullah's prestige, and, as such, was brilliantly successful in the eyes of his own followers and in the eyes of friendlies who are wavering in their allegiance.

Its importance, apart from the number of British subjects murdered, lies in the fact that it totally disproves Mr Harcourt's cheerful theory that the Mullah is coming to the end of his career, and that all that it is necessary to do at present in British Somaliland is to occupy the Berbera-Sheikh-Burao line.

The holding of that line affords no sort of protection to Berbera, for, in this case, the raiders made their demonstration from a totally unexpected and unprotected quarter. As it happened, there were only about 40 men in the raiding party, but there might just as well have been twenty or thirty times the number.

There is undoubtedly a strong proDervish element now in the town. Many natives are convinced that the Mullah intends to make an attack in force before long, and that he will be assisted when he does so by allies from within. Since the raid troops guard the passes and scouts keep a watch on the roads. I do not think the Mullah would ever get near enough to surprise the town again, despite the fact that the Protectorate forces are far too small. But it is practically certain that he is getting ready for another descent on Burao.