A DIFFERENT VERSION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19448, 6 November 1925, Page 8

A DIFFERENT VERSION

THE DAMASCUS AFFAIR GENERAL SARRAIL ’S ACCOUNT PARIS, Nov. 4. An official account of events at Damascus has been issued by the Foreign Office, based on a report from General Sarrail. It says that two bands on October 18 entered the Chagour and Medan quarters and overwhelmed the police. Their numbers were swollen by looters. The French established a barrage round the European quarter. The insurgents next day resumed firing and (attempted to invade other quarters. The French command, anxious to avoid fighting, ordered a slow bombardment. A number of shells fell in the native quarters, where the insurgents concentrated. The insurgents surrendered on October 20. The measures to suppress the revolt were most moderate compared with the extent of the movement. No European civilians were killed or wounded. The French losses were ten killed and thirty wounded, including three Frenchmen and two rebels who wero massacred. The rebels had two killed. The material damage was limited to the native area. No Arab buildings of architectural or historical interest were affected.