STREET BATTLE IN NAPLES

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24900, 13 June 1946, Page 5

STREET BATTLE IN NAPLES

While a national holiday marking the birth of the new republic was being celebrated throughout Italy yesterday, King Umberto stood fast in the Quirinal Palace and the Cabinet held an emergency meeting to end the incongruous situation. Six persons were killed and 14 were injured in monarchist derhonstrations in Naples on Monday night, and in a n:w flare-up yesterday the police and troops in full war kit, armed with automatic weapons, used four armoured cars against a huge crowd of monarchist demonstrators when they attempted to storm the Communist headquarters, which are situate alongside police headquarters. The crowd, undeterred by this show Ox force, chocked up the armoured cars' wheels, overpowered the occupants, and captured the cars. Reinforcements were necessary before thecars were recaptured. The police beg:n fifing against the crowd after demmstrators had seized empty artillery sh~lls, which had been used to decorate the square, and flung them at the poiice. * Communist Headquarters Attacked Reuter’s correspondent said that the trouble in Naples Vegan when monarchists entered the Communist headquarters and ordered the Communists to lower the Republican flag. A threecornered battle then began between monarchists, Communists, and police. A raging mob of monarchists tried to bum down the six-storey Communist headquarters after two hours of fighting against the police, in which at least two were killed. The crowd used Molotov cocktails, to which'the police replied with more I:han ICO rounds of rifle fire, mostly directed ever the heads of the crowd. I

The correspondent of the Associated Press, who was watching the scene from the adjoining police headquarters, said that the crowd erected barricades against the armoured cars. He saw from 10 to 12 wounded carried off and trails of blood in the street Police headquarters received reports that several smaller riots were going on elsewhere in Naples. “Under Heavy Fire” “We are under heavy fire,” said the correspondent of the Associated Press in a later dispatch from the Naples polled headquarters. “Someone in the Communist headquarters has just thrown two bombs qp to the crowd. AL hell has broken loose.” The correspondent added: “There »s probably a crowd of 10,000. When the fighting began, most of the women and children were withdrawn. Firing is now coming from buildings all round the Communist headquarters. Several police were killed with hand grenades. The American military police, whose headquarters are z in the basement of the police buildings, are heavily armed, but they have been ordered not to fire unless the building is attacked.” “Firing appeared to be going on throughout Naples to-night.” Earlier yesterday morning monarchists in Naples hoisted a monarchist flag on St. James’ Palace, in the municipal square. Handbills were distributed in the city, which asserted that the vote for a republic violated the 1860 agreement uniting Italy under the House of Savoy. The handbills called for a separate southern State. It is recalled that analysis of the plebiscite vote showed that the north was almost two to one in favour of a republic, and the south two to one in fevour of the nfbnarchy.