Coll 17/4 'Iraq-Syria & Syria-Transjordan frontier: delimitation' [‎16v] (37/788)

22
„ , „ „. n11 irl entail the establishment
He added that the ^.‘h! and^ssibly even the despatch of patrols
of temporary posts on tne miti y ,
r ,jK“;-S" *s'jS.k k “ «•»fte; - “• “ D " 1 * "
Sector from Humeian Keui to the Euphrates.
We need not return here to the controversy re^ the two
Kapv by tke Ftettch and Syrian troops, to
«L2rEaM , 52o i a
troops in the Levant A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. , and certam British °* c n e " s 'Syria and the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Rumelan as
sfeswyt ,s, p -r,r;;f u xa“ - “• - ‘~~
“ ""tSSf K.. .»* ■ »“ ‘y 0" I" 1 “•—>
even before the signature of the Convention of 1920 • F h High Commissioners,
w sssas ss , ,“,s-.;rss zszsssss «. n “ m °-
and an n'onditiL that no pormanont military oatablishmnnt tbonW^m ao^ «P ■ botwonn
Thk k made dear bv all the correspondence exchanged m tne last 1 o y A m
Beirut fnd Baghdad FoHnstance, in a telegram to the French Consul at Baghdad dated April
17th 1923, thf High Commissioner of the French Republic expressed his attitude thus.
“ft is understood that, pending the exact delimitation of the frontier in the Smjar,
the present de facto position there shall not be changed, but may not be appealed
against the rights we derive from our earlier Conventions.
On October 1st, 1925, General Sarrail, replying to a memorandum from the British Consul
at Beirut, defined the de facto situation as follows: 3
“As is shown by the correspondence on the subject of the zone bounded on the
east by the 1920 frontier and on the west by the line defined m Sir Henry Dobbss lette r
No. 164a of January 31st, 1923, the mandatory Power in Syria has always declared
that it recognised the de facto situation existing in the Sin jar prior to the signature
of the London Agreement of December 23rd, 1920. It accordingly accepts the Bntis
administration of that area, on condition that no permanent military estabhshmen
such as might modify its temporary character shall be set up there (letter No. 2189/KD
of April 22nd, 1925). Orders were accordingly given a year ago to the Syrian administra
tion to entrust to the Iraqi authorities in the Sinjar the search for any malefactors who
might take refuge in that territory.”
The exact limits of the Sinjar proper gave rise, however, to differences of opinion. A dispute
on this subject had already arisen in 1922, when the village of Khatuniya was occupied by a
British post. This occupation led to a protest from General Gouraud to Sir Percy Cox, and the
post was withdrawn.
Again, in the summer of 1925, Syrian patrols having pushed as far as the same village, a
correspondence ensued between Sir Henry Dobbs and General Sarrail, as the outcome of which
Khatuniya was evacuated.
When the Commission passed that way, it was able to ascertain that Khatuniya and the
neighbouring village of El Hoi were free from any military or police forces. The village of El
Hoi is under the Syrian administration, but no definite settlement seems to have been arrived
at in regard to Khatuniya. It may be assumed, however, that the de facto frontier passes near
the two villages.
To the north and south of the Sinjar are desert areas frequented by nomad tribes dependent
some on Syria and some on Iraq.
By an agreement between the two parties, these tribes were to be supervised and parties
using the tracks which serve this region were to be protected on either side of the presumed
frontier of 1920 by the respective military authorities, who would also be entitled, after giving
notice of their intention, to cross the boundary in order to get into touch with the tribes owing
them allegiance.
A more recent temporary arrangement 3 (March 24th, 1930) between Major Wilson, Admin
istrative Inspector at Mosul, and Colonel Callais, Assistant Delegate of the High Commissioner
of the French Republic at Deir-ez-Zor, fixed the boundary of the areas in which the two Govern
ments were to provide for the administration of the Shammar tribes under their respective
authorities and to collect the wedi tax.
1 Statement of the de facto situation resulting from the frontier relations be tween Syria and Iraq — High
Commission of the French Republic in Syria and the Lebanon, Beirut, March 19th, 1932, page 21.
3 Ibid., page 23.
3 "Descriptive Memorandum on the Frontier between Syria and Iraq.” Beirut, February 18th, 1932, page 67.