SERIOUS DISPUTE.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 September 1924, Page 5

SERIOUS DISPUTE.

BRITAIN AND TURKEY. , FUTURE OF MOSUL. INVASION BY TURKS. BRITISH TROOPS INVOLVED. By Telegraph—-Pr»ss Assn.—Copyright, Received Sept. 25, 6.6 p.m. London, Sept-. 25. A serious situation has arisen in connection with the Anglo-Turkish dispute regarding the sovereignty of Mosul, a vilayet of Mesopotamia, This is one of the questions on which an amicable settlement was not reached at the time of the eignature of the Lausanne Treaty and it was reserved for subsequent negotiation, with a provision for its ultimate reference to the League of Nations if necessary. The Turkish Government, despite the application of this provision last week,, has presented a note to Britain complaining of alleged British troop movements on the Turco-Iraq frontier. A message from Geneva shows that Lord Parmoor (Britain) created a sensation to-day by reading the British reply, in which a strong protest was registered against the invasion of armed 'bodies inside the area administered by the British and also within the old administrative boundary of the Mosul vilayet. Bodies left behind showed that the invaders included Turkish regulars, and evidence was available of Turkish disregard for th® status quo at the time of the signature of the Lausanne Treaty. Lord Pannoor said the Iraq police and local levies were forced to retire a* recently as September 22 to Amadia. He emphasised his Government’s solemn protest before the League at an intentional and flagrant violation of the treaty. Meanwhile, he stated, the British authorities in Iraq were authorised to take all necessary action to prevent the invasion and infiltration of Turkish forces of such a nature as entail serious unrest and bloodshed.

Fethi Bey, who followed Lord Parrnoor, disputed the British view with regard to the frontier, declaring that it assumed that the fate of Mosul had already been decided in favour of Britain, which Turkey disputed. The Bagdad correspondent of the Morning Post says native and British levies, under British officers, are retiring to Amadia, sixty-five miles north-west of Mosul, in face of the Turkish advance. A British aeroplane crashed and the occupants were injured. It is officially learned in London that there have been two Turkish raids in Iraq during the last week and another on September 22. British aeroplanes participated in repelling the raiders.