'File 8/7 I Jidda Intelligence Reports' [‎132r] (263/536)

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King reviewed, as stated above, a further division of troops, estimated in the
press at 10,000 men, at Riyadh on the 16th December prior to their departure
for the front. The tribes' in Asir remained steady during the period. r J he
uneasiness expressed by Fuad Bey that, provoked by Imamic intrigue, they might
precipitate a conflict proved unfounded, but on the 10th Mr. Calvert, under
instructions, expressed the hope of His Majesty’s Government that Ibn Saud, in
his own interests, would make every effort to prevent the tribes from opening
hostilities. .
There had been, according to Fuad Bey, a few cases of individual desertions
to the Yemen, chiefly from the Beni Malik and the Abadil. the general situation
will be further dealt with in paragraph 275 below, in connexion with Saudi
relations with the Yemen.
II. — Frontier Questions and Foreign Relations in Arabia.
275.
The sky between Saudi Arabia and the Temen showed some signs of
clearing during the month. Correspondence between the King and the Imam,
which had been going on for some time (see paragraphs 245 and 246), continued,
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and Fuad Bey stated to His Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires on the 10th that the
Imam was prepared to give satisfaction over the “ minor point of the disposal
of the Idrisi. As for Najran. the King had proposed, as his “ last word ” on
the subject, that this district should be left as a neutral zone. No reply had
since been received, but it was understood that Imamic forces were in course of
being withdrawn from Najran (they had razed Badr to the ground on evacuating
it) and were being concentrated at four points in the Yemen along the Asir
frontier. Other major issues between Ibn Saud and the Imam Yahya were,
Fuad Bey declared, still the subject of further long-range elucidation. A day or
so after receiving this more encouraging account of the situation, news of a
startlingly contrary nature to the effect that an outbreak of war was imminent
and that Ibn Saud was proceeding in person to the front was received from
a source normally well-informed. Time, however, did not confirm this more
desperate view of affairs, and on the 28th December Fuad Bey, who since his
last meeting with Mr. Calvert had been away in Riyadh, informed Sir Andrew
Ryan that further progress towards agreement had been registered, viz., that
(1) the Idrisi was to be removed to Zebid. in the I ihama of the Yemen ; (2) the
Asir frontier, as it exists at present, was to be recognised by the Imam, both in
respect of Asir Surati and Asir Tihama; and that a treaty in due course was to
be made in affirmation of this; and (3) intrigues in Saudi Arabia by the Imam
were to cease. The problem of Najran still remained unsolved—the Imam had
been notified, however, that upon his acceptance or rejection of Ibn Sand’s “ last
word” proposals hung the issue of peace or war. At the end of December,
therefore, though the sky was perceptibly bluer, there remained one large and
rather threatening cloud, which it is to be hoped the good sense of both parties
will soon contrive to dissipate. Meanwhile the position on the frontier is
somewhat obscure. There appears to be no foundation for rumours of actual
conflict in the direction of the sea, but it has been credibly reported in one
unofficial quarter that a clash took place about the middle of the month between
Wahhabi forces acting without authority and the Yemenis in Najran.
276. (Reference paragraph 247.) Fuad Bey on several occasions during the
month manifested great interest in the movements and progress of Colonel
Reilly’s mission to Sana, His curiosity for the moment had to remain
unsatisfied. . . _ .
277. The exchange of ratifications of the Saudi- Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan treaty took
place in Cairo on the 21st December at the Continental Hotel. The Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan
representative was Sheikh Fuad Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. El Khatib, personal adviser to His
Highness the Amir. He was accompanied by Mr. A. S. Kirkbride, assistant to
the British Resident in Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan . The Saudi representative in Cairo.
Sheikh Fauzan-el-Sabik, acted for the Saudi Arab Government. The text of the
treaty was published in the M.eccn Umm-al-Qura on the 22nd December.
278. (Reference paragraph 250.) The Saudi Arab Government duly replied
to Mr. Calvert’s note regarding the camels stolen by the Beni Atiya, confirming
Fuad Bey’s oral statement that the animals had already been returned to the
Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan frontier authorities on the 25th November. The Saudi authorities,
on their part, also brought to the notice of the Legation on the 21st a number of
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