CLOSING IN ON TRIPOLI

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 99, 21 January 1943, Page 5

CLOSING IN ON TRIPOLI

Advance From East And South STAND NOT LIKELY LONDON, January 20.

The latest communique from Cairo states that yesterday the Eighth Army continued to press the enemy to the north-west, and by evening forces were closing in on Homs and Tarhuna. Prisoners, guns and vehicles were captured. Tarhuna is within 40 miles of Tripoli. Air reconnaissance reveals that enemy transport is streaming westward from Tripoli to the Tunisian frontier—an indication that Field-Marshal Rommel does not intend seriously to defend the city. All southern Tripolitania is now in Allied hands following the meeting of the French Camel Corps with General Leclerc's forces. Ghadames fortress, on the Tunisian-Tripolitanian frontier, is now the only desert point remaining in Italian hands.

Today's communique says that Allied air squadrons continued to attack the retreating enemy and maintained continuous pressure over the 2-1 hours on columns moving westward of TarJiuna. Caste! Benito aerodrome was again heavily attacked, leaving fires among dispersed planes. Tripoli and Sousse harbours were bombed and a large ship west of Sicily was hit and loft sinking. Four of our planes are missing.

General Montgomery’s forces are closing in on two directions, with columns sweeping round from inland, and others racing along the coast road. Land fighting on a full scale is now taking place in towns and villages populated witli Axis people, and thousands of Italian settlers are seeing the Afrika Korps passing them by in full retreat.