Abyssinia in Revolt
The Italians in Abyssinia have not yet felt the weight of a serious British attack such as that which has broken the Italian army in Libya, but their embarrassments are accumulating. Not only have they to reckon with the advanced British patrols in the Sudan and the South Africans in Kenya, and incessant attacks from the air, but there is also the growing organisation of Abyssinian revolt. The chieftains have been encouraged by the presence of the Emperor Haile Selassie in Khartum, whence he has visited the frontier and made contact with Abyssinian leaders, who risked their lives in travelling from the interior to meet him, and have gone home to prepare insurrection. The Emperor has recently been holding court in Khartum, where many of his countrymen have come to train for the invasion force which he will lead to Addis Ababa: The Italians already find themselves exposed to attacks from guerillas in the rear, and organised forces on or near the frontier. Their army of occupation was a large one, but with every month that passes they are eating further into their reserves of oil and ammunition, whilst more is being destroyed by our bombers. The Emperor Haile Selassie reasonably looks forward to the re-establishment of an independent Abyssinia, to which he promises a just and constitutional government.
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