765.84/4700: Telegram
The Chargé in Italy (Kirk) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 22—3:50 p.m.]
226. Following observations submitted by Major Fiske, Assistant Military Attaché to the Embassy, who has just returned from a 2 months’ tour of Ethiopia.
“There is no organized armed resistance to the Italian forces. All of the Tigre and the major portion of Gojjam including Gondar, Lake Tana [Tsana?] and Debra Marcos, is quiet and completely under Italian administrative control. The Ogaden is likewise completely pacified and is returning to normal. The Wallo for a time caused considerable trouble. The local chiefs refused to surrender to the Italians and kept up a rather effective resistance sniping and raiding truck columns and isolated working parties. This resistance has now been put down and the Wallo too is returning to normal. This country is on the direct air route between Addis Ababa and Asmara and recently even the firing at airplanes has ceased.
Harrar, Dire Dawa and Jijiga have been occupied and the commercial life of the cities restored but some remnants of Ras Nasibu’s army are still in the mountains north of Harrar and west of Harrar and are interfering with the road building and with the traffic on the roads between Jijiga, Harrar and Diré Dawa. While I was there a raiding party struck an engineering detachment working on a bridge between Harrar and Jijiga killing 6 and wounding 20. The military governor of this region General Nasi has recently taken over at Harrar. He has a division of Libyan troops and I believe that he will soon be able to force the disarmament of the few remaining guerrillas.
The area about Neghelli north of the Kenya frontier is not as quiet now as it was several months ago. The Italians have a force of about 15,000 men at Neghelli and this force has to be constantly on the alert to protect itself and to protect the air field which is about 20 kilometers from Neghelli. Movement between the air field and the town of Neghelli a distance of 20 kilometers is made only under escort. General Geloso has been appointed military governor of the Galla and Sidamo area and is preparing this force at Neghelli for movement into the Lake country to complete its pacification. At the same time another [Page 78] column from Addis Ababa is to be moved southwest on Jiren (in Jimma). Operations from Neghelli will probably be directed first upon Mega on the Kenya frontier and then north on Allata. These movements will be made regardless of rain and as soon as the necessary supplies can be gotten up.
The Italian forces at Neghelli and also at Harrar and at Gondar have been preparing for possible action against the Kenya, British Somalia, and the Sudan in the event that the Suez Canal should be closed but now that the possibility of continued sanctions against Italy seems rather remote they can devote their entire efforts to the immediate task of pacification and in my opinion it will not take them very long to accomplish it probably not more than 2 or 3 months”.
Major Fiske will forward complete report to War Department.