File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎124r] (256/834)

A reconnaissance by seaplane showed that Jebel Kudmieh
was strongly held by the enemy, who were chiefly distributed
near the crests of the three hill elements comprising the Jebel.
Ihese positions were bombed and machine-gunned by seaplanes
on the 23rd, while some skirmishing took place between Arabs
and lurks The latter had a gun at Beit Makhai, two miles
noitn or Jebel Kudmieh, which held up the very half-hearted
advance of the Arabs. On March 3 bombs were dropped on
Zahiran, m consequence of which the local Arabs wished to
surrender, but Ismail Bey, the Turkish commander, prevented
them from doing so.
It was now decided to give up the idea of taking Jebel
Kudmieh by storm, and to surround it and starve out the garrison
When the “ Fox ” left Loheiyah on March 5 the encircling
movement, as reported on page 81, was progressing favourably,
the chief obstacles being the Turkish posts at Beit Makhai and
Beit Ahmed Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. .
Of Seyyid Mustafa Idnsi, Captain WVfllaston, R.N., writes :
U The long hours of hard and exasperating work and the
responsibility of his position might have been expected to tell
their tale in his appearance or unflagging good humour, but little
trace of such effects was noticeable. The greater part of the time
he spent ashore at A tan, which he visited nearly every day, and
in his rudely extemporized headquarters there or at Loheiyah he
was continually writing, organizing, or exhorting his men, who
seem to love and respect him and honestly try to follow his
wishes and obey his instructions.”
According to a deserter, the Turkish headquarters are at
Jarb, from where supplies are distributed, and between Jarb and
Jebel Kudmieh there is a Turkish post at Abu Karsh, in the
Waazat country.
Twelve hundred of the Beni Yam (see p. 90) are reported
to have arrived at Medi on February 12. The news of the capture
of Loheiyah has given much satisfaction throughout the Yemen,
and it is expected that other tribes will rally to Idrisi. An Aden
telegram of March 22 reports that his followers continue to
increase and now include some of the Wayidat tribe.
East African Natives.
In connection with the spread of Pan-African or Pan-
Islamic propaganda in East Africa, it would be interesting to
ascertain what is the attitude of the great numbers of native
porters who have been employed during the campaign. These
men have been forced to serve in a cause about which they are
ignorant and indifferent. “ In the course of this experience,”
writes Major Foster, of the King’s African Rifles, “they have
observed that a negro can wield the special weapons of the
European with a degree of efficiency comparable to that of the
European himself. They have seen these weapons turned by
their own people against white men, and without doubt the
particular respect in which the lives of Europeans were held by