EGYPTIAN ARMY WILL FIGHT

Southland Times, Issue 24235, 19 September 1940, Page 7

EGYPTIAN ARMY WILL FIGHT

CONVOYS FILE OVER CAIRO

DISCUSSIONS BEGUN WITH MINISTER

(United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received September 18, 11.50 p.m.) LONDON, September 17.

The official British spokesman at Cairo said: “We are not defending the long desert line from Solium, but we will certainly defend Egypt proper, namely, the Delta and the Nile Valley. Our course of action will be directed to the destruction of the enemy’s forces. Territorial readjustments will follow naturally when this is achieved, as it will be.”

The Cairo correspondent of The Times says that Egypt’s army of 30,000 men will unquestionably fight at the ap-

propriate time. Already the native army is carrying out manoeuvres outside Cairo and in the desert. Long convoys of the Egyptian army’s camouflaged trucks, Bren gun carriers and artillery are filing across the capital. Their equipment is superior to anything yet captured from the Italians. Volunteers and civil guards have taken over security jobs in Cairo and Alexandria. Regular Egyptian troops guard the Nile bridges, Egyptians man the anti-aircraft guns and. searchlights around the two cities and Egyptians and Sudanese man the frontier observation posts. The native anti-aircraft gunners at Alexandria have been signally successful in repulsing 75 Italian raids which have -• killed 10 and wounded 40 civilians. The Italians have repeatedly missed their objective, which is the British Fleet. The commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Territorial Army, forecasting increasingly powerful forces, said: “We can train 200,000 men .annually.” The leading Arabic newspaper, Alahram, says that the Egyptians

have full confidence in their leaders and await patiently the outcome of. their discussions, but earnestly hope that they do not have to wait too long.

All the newspapers are most friendly towards Britain. Italian propaganda articles have entirely disappeared.

The Egyptian War Minister, Mahmud Fahmy Elkissy, has already begun discussions with senior British and Egyptian military officers regarding the role the Egyptian Army will play in view of the invasion.