Fighting in Tripoli

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 130, 23 November 1911, Page 5

Fighting in Tripoli

THE ITALIAX FORCES.

CASUALTY -RETURNS.

By Cable—Press Association—Copyright.

Malta, November 21. It is calculated that 4000 Italians are now in Tripoli town, 20,000 in the trenches there, 2O.0f(0 at Benghazi, and 21.000 at Derna, Honis and Tobruk. The Italians up til] mnv - have had 13AM) men killed, wounded or sick. Various Italian estimates alleged that 45,000 Turks and Arabs have been killed or incapacitated.

THE ALLEGED ATROCITIES.

LECTURE BY WAR CORRESPONDENT

London. November 2]

Several Italians interrupted a lecture by Mr. McCullagh. war correspondent, at the Memorial Hall, on the Italian atrocities.

Mr. MeCullagh stated that when Italian reinforcements were passin» a factory behind which was a village inhabited exclusively by mill-workers, two shots were fired, and a soldier was reported wounded. He could never find the soldier, but owing to those two shots four thousand were killed. There was no other cause for slaughter. He saw bedridden women and little Ih>,vs shot. It was murder, not war. Arabs were killed on the flimsiest pretexts, because knives, razors and empty cartridges were found in their dwellings. Lieutenant Ivaec, an Italian officer here, replied that 324 soldiers were treacherously killed. The Arabs killed were murderers, and were treated as such. The meeting resolved to urge the Government to enquire into the alleged violation of the rules of war, and U> make representations to Italy.