MOVEMENT AT DAWN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 June 1941, Page 5

MOVEMENT AT DAWN

NO INDICATION OF EARLY OPPOSITION Proclamation by General Catroux GUARANTEE OF LIBERTY AND INDEPENDENCE FOR PEOPLE OF SYRIA SATISFACTION EXPRESSED IN TURKEY LONDON, -Jime 8. Free French troops, supported by Imperial forces, entered Syria and Lebanon in the early hours of this morning’, it is officially announced in Cairo. The operations, which are primarily intended to prevent the Germans from using Syria as a base, are proceeding according to plan. General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, who led the first Libyan campaign and the Imperial defence of Greece, is in command of the Allied forces. Leaflets have been dropped in Syrian towns urging the French troops and the population to collaborate with the Free French to drive out the Germans. General Catroux, the Free French leader in the Middle East, has issued a statement on behalf of General de Gaulle guaranteeing the liberty and independence of Syria and Lebanon and has undertaken to negotiate a treaty to ensure this. The British Government has advised that it associates itself _v;ith the promise of liberty and independence. The latest news from Syria is contained in a special communique issued by the R.A.F. Middle East Headquarters tonight, which states that aircraft supported the British, Imperial and Allied troops which crossed into Syria at dawn today. Fighter aircraft patrols over the advancing troops met with no opposition. A Reuter message states that the Allied troops advancing into Syria are known to have made some progress, but at 5 o’clock tonight little definite news had been received from the scene of operations. It is not yet known whether opposition has been encountered or what is the reaction of Frenchmen in Syria. Marshal Petain has issued an appeal to Frenchmen to fight for the integrity of territory entrusted to France by history. It is stated, however,, by commentators that the appeal is not likely to find much response among Syrians. Considerable satisfaction is expressed in Turkey, where the Allied move is believed to have forestalled German preparations for a full-scale attack from Syria. Well-informed quarters in London state that Vichy has 45,000 troops in Syria, three-quarters of them colonials. They have also a number of tanks and a small air force.