File 57/1905 ‘Arabia: - Situation in Yemen (1905-11). Arab revolt against Turks. Imam of Sanaa’s letter to the King. Fighting in Yemen 1911. Agreement between the Turks & the Imam’ [‎81r] (166/692)

ASIATIC TURKEY AND A RABIA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[March 27.]
iPRigil
Section 1.
[ 11073 ] Noh.-r -
(No. 175.) Slr Lowtkerto Sir Edward March 27.)
Sir,
WITH rpfprAnno m A/r v , _ Constantinople, March 20, 1911.
the honour to forworrl ^ '+i ar ^ on ^ en ^ a l of tho 11th January, I have
commentinp-on thenmcl 1 t 2 s P a ^. c 1 ^ om Majesty’s vice-consul at Hodeidah,
the progress of affairs b the Xlb ^ Yemen tribeS and , ' e P 0rtin g° n
I have, &c.
GERARD LOWTHER.
Enclosure in No. 1.
(No 12 E ) Vwe-Consul Richardson to Sir G. Lowther.
, ira
ZeTfevvidT H 110 ' 1 'I 1 V ™tl VOm the Arabic text o'- « procfan^oTsa d to be
issued by beyy id-el-Idnsse to the tribesmen of the Yemen.
fostered^Tstvlh^r/d 1 '* 0 t - e l ,r0 , clamation - as th e rebeilion in the province of Assyr,
. ‘ ^yy'O-el-ldnsse, is a /ait accompli, and there is hardly any doubt about
such proclamation having been issued by the Seyyid. 7
Ar . Sey ^', d Ah med-bin-Kharashan, referred to in that proclamation, is an influential
of the Sa^lr PrefeX* yl " g otC where he acts as the official agent
the latt pfcaSlbht ^ ^ “ d bet -“
, ,iuT’ m my des P atches Noa ' 37 E. and 3 E. of the 15th December, 1910, and
ie otn January, 1911, respectively, already reported on the outbreak at Assyr No
news has recently been received at Hodeidah about the progress of tlie revolt there.
A Kb lt y TT ep0rt 1 ed h f. re tllat 011 or about the 15tl > January last, Suleiman Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. left
Abba With three battalions and several guns, and encountered the rebels outside in
g iea t kzrcc under Seyyid Mustapha, the Idrisse’s principal lieutenant in Assyr.
lie local authorities give out that Suleiman Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. at first fired blank charges from
ins guns to throw dust in the eyes of the Arabs, who had been informed by the
Pretender that the Turkish cannon were harmless, and that their bullets would not
penetrate their bodies.
At this the insurgents tried to rush the guns and were punished very severely in
the attempt, losing several hundreds.
It would appear that this worsting disheartened the tribesmen, many of them
retiring from the investment of Abha and returning to their homes.
The news of the above insurgent defeat, which was received at first with scepticism
here, has now been confirmed.
No engagement has been reported since, but the garrison at Abha still appears to
be under investment, and all communication with the coast continues to be completely
cut off J
As far as I can ascertain, Seyyid Idrisse has the support of some 25,000 to 30,000
armed men in the country lying between Sabyeah, his head-quarters, and Abha, and
between the former and El Hujjur in the west.
El Nakeeb Seyyid Mustapha, the Pretender’s right-hand man, is supposed to have
between 10,000 to 20,000 men surrounding Abha and between it and the coast.
^ Ihe other rebel leaders are Shereef Nazir-ibn-Haidar-ibn-Ibrahim with 2,000 men,
Shereef Monsoor-bin-Mahomed with 2,000, Shereef Mahomed-bin-Ali-ibn-Hussein with
[1935 dd—l]