File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎321r] (646/898)

proceeding, stating that it would pe misconstrued by the Wahabis who would think
that the foreign Powers were anxious to get their nationals out of Jeddah and send
them to Mecca, and Saggif brought the council to his point of view, at which stage
Juad stated that the King had already given his assent and could not go back on
it and possibly alienate the sympathies of the foreign Powers involved; and then
withdrew. As stated above the matter was later settled and the combined partv is
to leave on the 10th August (to-day). r J
A. copy of the joint note setting out certain regulations which these persons
were to observe, and the reply sent by myself and my colleagues, is attached.
4. The military situation is most precarious. Rumours to-day state that 300
of the 600 to 700 regular troops engaged in Jeddah are demanding their release and
return to their country. They are mostly Yemenis, and the steamship “ Tawil ”
which has been lying m Jeddah for some days, left for Port Sudan to obtain a supply
of coal and water, and will, so the Government informed the soldiers, he used for their
repatriation as soon as she returns.
Besides the above there are now some 2,000 Bedouin irregulars within the
defences of Jeddah, but they are badly armed and equipped, some having the
exceedingly long large-bore rifle of no mean antiquity.
The steamship Radwa brought from Akaba certain guns and ammunition
which arrived from Medina by train. There were 2 guns and 1 howitzer, 3 machine
guns, of which one is unserviceable, and about 1,800 cases of gun ammunition and
some 160 cases of small arms ammunition. She brought also some 170 fighting ranks,
and supposedly some 18 prisoners of war. There was much rejoicing at this, and
the local population were jubilant at the discomfort of these latter. It later
transpired that they were criminals from Medina that they thought unsafe to leave
there.
The Wahabis, about 1,000 strong, have again appeared before Jeddah on the
5th instant, but so far have refrained from hostile action. They appear to be a
watch post, whilst the main force, composed of approximately i0,000 troops are
besieging Medina. Telegrams (wireless) from Medina state that the enemy are
numerous and the town besieged, but that only small attacks have taken place between
the outposts and reconnoitring patrols for the present.
Ibn Sand’s declarations in the Mecca paper, “ Umm-al-Kura,” throw light on
these operations, together with the attitude he seems about to adopt as regards the
Hedjaz. A translation of these articles is attached. It would appear that, owing to
the fact that he cannot restrain his men in the attack, and much loss of life and
damage to property and religious relics and monuments would occur if the town was
stormed, he has decided to adopt siege methods so as not to earn a bad name for his
followers. Whether he will be able to restrain their natural ardour remains to be
seen, but, certainly, the taking of Medina before Jeddah would appear to have certain
advantages, as there are no Europeans, properly speaking, in Medina, and Jeddah
can hardly hold out alone against the forces Ibn Sand commands, and will, 1
consider, surrender as a natural sequence.
The water supply from the condenser is simply deplorable, and owing to the
continuous service it breaks down with unfailing regularity every two or three days.
It is now guarded by soldiers, and the greater part of the output is utilised for army
purposes; consequently, the townspeople suffer great hardship, and the current price
for one keresone tin of water is 10 piastres. The greater part of the population
naturally cannot afford this each day, and exist on practically nothing. Great
hardship is caused by this lack of water.
5. The situation in Mecca is from all reports very satisfactory, and, except that
the townsfolk are obliged to attend prayers five time a day, no other liberties [sic\
seem to have been curtailed or modified. Naturally, at first there were several
incidents, one of which took place in the Indian book-merchants’ quarter. But,
except for bruises, nobody was much the worse for it. On the following day, however,
a collision occurred between Ibn Saud’s partisans and some Mecca people, and the
result was one killed and many wounded. Order was quickly restored, and Ibn Saud
removed the more fanatical of his troops to some distance outside the town.
Ibn Saud, it is rumoured, visited Rabigh and returned to Mecca the following
day. I hope to confirm this later from the pilgrimage officer and others who were in
Rabigh attending to the pilgrims during this period.
It appears also that Ibn Saud has been sending agents to Eritrea through
Kunfuda to obtain, if possible, war material to prosecute his campaign more
[1060 a—1] b 2