Evening star., 1925-09-28
by VINCENT SHEEAN.
Special Correspondent of The Star and North
American Newspaper Alliance. with the
Riff Armies.

American Newspaper Alliance. with the
Riff Armies.
RIFF GENERAL HEADQUAR-
TIERS. Targhzuit. September 9, by
Courier to Tangier. September IS
The tremendous forces which France
has poured into the Riff war during
the past few weeks are being success
fully opposed by mere handful of
Abd-el -Krim's followers. according to
the information which / received to-
day from Sidi Mohammed, COM
mander- in-Chief of the Riff army.
France. he said, has now roughly
100000 men on the southern front.
And Abd-el-krim has been so little
disturbed by their activity that he
has used against them only 500
Riffians, supported by a considerable
number of Arab tribesmen. the total
force numbering fewer than $4,000.
Sidi Mohammed received me today
for a long interview, covering the
whole situation in the Riff, both as
regards the military activities of
France and Spain, and as regards the
possibility of peace.
Riff Position Serious.
Undoubtedly, the Riff position has
the new Franco-Spanish activities
along the north coast and the in
creasing number of air attacks.
But here at headquarters, where the
telephone keeps the Riff staff in con-
slant communication with all fronts,
there is no feeling of alarm. In fact,
since the Spanish and French began
bombarding the coast 10 days go the
general staff has been greatly relieved
to discover how little damage such
bombardment from the sea can cause.
The Spanish forces landed at Cape
Moro Nuevo, on the western horn of
Alhucemas Bay, on September 8, but
they are unable to go any farther
and the Riffs are well content to keep
them there.
Cape Moro Nuevo is a barren rock
without water or food supply, and
the troops who are ashore there must
depend for everything on their fleet
They are therefore unable to leave
the shore, and whenever they attempt
to attack Adjir, they will be faced
by the finest troops of the Riff army,
the Sultan's CARDS under Abd-el-krim
himself.
Advancing i'm South.
On the southern front the Riff
forces are steadily advancing in the
Branes sector, and the great French
tourist road between Taxa and Oud
ida is in danger. The French are
now regaining some of the lost
ground in the Benz Zeroual region,
but their losses are heavy and their
progress slow.
At WeZzan the advantage, if any,
is with the Riff forces.
Facing this situation of blockade
and war on all fronts, Sidi Mohammed
displays his usual calm. He received
me shortly before noon, Just after
telephone call from the WeZZan front
reporting a further Riff advance.
The Riff commander is a brown
eyed, brown bearded parsonage Of
medium height, or less, dressed in
an ordinary djeellabe and turban un-
distinguishable from those worn by
everybody else here. He has lately
taken to wearing gold trimmed eye
glasses, which give him the air of a
professor in some Islamic university,
instead of the victorious leader of an
army He speaks fluent and correct
Spanish. a relic of his student days
in Madrid, where he took courses in
mining engineering, but today, on ac-
count of the fact that other persons
were present, he spoke French.
His Office is a small room in a new
mud house which he has had built
here, and the only noticeable thing
about 1t is its rug, beautiful Persian
carpet, which, like all other uneXpect-
ed luxuries at TarghZuit, belongs TO
Raisuli's treasures, captured when
that infamous old bandit fell into the
hands of the Riff army.
General Situation.
Sidi Mohammed turned to the gen.
eral aspects of the Riff position.
France has employed every means
in her power to defeat us on the
southern frontier he asserted, big
guns, huge armies, intensive cam
paigns by airplanes, all the newest in
ventions in artillery and bombing of
every sort; in fact, the full resources
of the greatest military power in the
world, excepting only chemical war
fare.
Against most of these weapons,
particularly against the air attacks
and the big artillery, we have no de-
fense whatsoever.
France has now roughly 100000
men on the southern front. Do you
know what is the highest number we
have ever been able to employ there?
Only $4,000!
1.-THE point is. this is a war against