HARRIED BY PATRIOTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 June 1941, Page 6

HARRIED BY PATRIOTS

SURRENDER OF ITALIANS IN ABYSSINIA GENERAL & 2,000 MEN. PROGRESS IN JIMMA AREA. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 11.46 a.m.) RUGBY. June 16.During recent weeks the Imperial forces in Southern Abyssinia have been driving against one of the two lasi. Italian strongholds of resistance in that country, namely the Jimma Area. Columns advancing southwards from Nc-gelli and Yavallo are all making for the crossroads at Soddu. During our advance, various phases of the Battle of the Lakes took place. We were opposed in this area by four Italian colonial divisions, which were virtually destroyed as fighting units owing to the casualties inflicted and through large-scale desertions. We continued cur drive against the Italian positions in the Jimma and Eonga area without stopping to clean up the remnants of the Italian forces in the area between Soddu and Lake Abaya. There remnants of the Italian 24th Division, joined, perhaps, by small detachments from three other divisions, have been holding out under General Pralormo. The Italians were surrounded, on lhe east and north by a Gold Coast brigade and on the south and west by patriots. Cur forces, having bigger objectives in view, have been taking no action against these Italians. The patriots, however, have been harrying them successfully. The measure of success achieved by the patriots is shown by the fact that General Pralormo communicated with the Italian commander in the Jimma area asking whether he should try to arrange with us for terms of surrender. He has now surrendered with 2,000 Italian troops.