Page 261 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920_Neat

FOR THE YEAR 1913. 119
0f Mnharraq, Ali bin Husain al Kumri, a much more active and efficient man,
lias been, transferred to Manamah while Fahad bin Jalal, one of the “ Pidawis '*
0f Shaikh Muhammad bin Isa, has been made Amir of Maliarraq. The former
soeius to he doing ■well, and his presence in Manamah will assist in keeping the
Foreign bad characters, referred to above, in order. The latter is reported to
be very strict, and for this reason to have fallen foul of the ShaiWi’s con-
fidential factotum Ali biu Abdulla, but othcr\viso he seems to have started well.
The only two events of any public interest connected with Bahrain during
the year occurred on the mainland, and come under the heading “ External."
These were:—
(1) The expulsion of the Turks from the Ilasa Province by Shaikh
Abdul Aziz Bin Saud, Ainir of Ncjd, in May, and
(2) Tlic death of Shaikh Jasim bin Muhammad el Thani, Ruler of Katr
in July.
On the 8th May news was received in Bahrain that Abddul Aziz bin
Saud had seized the town of Hasa. Later
Jlasn aod Katif.
information showed that, on the night of
the 5thMay, Bin Saud with a comparatively small following attacked the town.
Aided by adherents inside and the pusillanimity of the Mutassarif and other
Turkish Officers, Bin Saud’s men speedily captured the town, and even the
citadel known as “ ICut ” did not offer any serious resistance There was some
fighting round oue of the gates of the town in which a certain number of men
were killed aud wounded on both sides.
After capturing the town, Bin Saud sent the Mutassarif and other officials
off to Ojair and the Turkish garrisou, numbering about 500 men, were allowed
to proceed there also.
The first refugees from Hasa reached Bahrain on the 10th May 1913, and
the Mutassarif with other officers arrived on the 12th. It was arransed that
the S S. “ John 0 Scott” (an old British cargo boat now owned by Kasim Kha-
dhairi of Basrah and sailing un«’er the Turkish flag) which happened, to be in
Bahrain, should go to Ojair and fetch the Turkish troops, the intention then
being to send them all back to Basrah at once.
This was, however, frustrated by the activity of Major Nuris Bey who
arrived in Bahrain, cn r-jute for Hasa to take command of the garrison there,
on the 9tli May, just in time to hear of Bin Saud’s success. This officer, who
had just come from the Balkans, was naturally much against .evacuating Katif
and giving up the province of Hasa without striking another blow, so when,
on the I ith May, the “ John O. Scott ** returned with the troops from Ojair, he
took the vessel over to Katif on the 16th, with the intention of assisting the
garrison there to resist Bin Saud. He found, however, that the place had
already been banded over to Bin Saud’s forces, and so brought back the Turkish
garrison who were being sent away in boats.
On various pretexts such as-want of coal, lack of water and other things
the “John 0. Scott" remained in Bahrain with some (400) four hundred men on
board. On two or three occasions Nuris Bey said that the ship would return
at once to Basrah, but she did not do so. On the 25th May, a party of 3
officers and about 30 gunners arrived from Katr with a field gun, and having
received this reinforcement Major Nuris Bey hired a number of Tangistani ana
other boats in harbour and started off to recapture Ojair on the 26th with all
the avilable men, numbering some four to five hundred. The troons, however,
had no stomach for any fighting and when they landed on the 27ta May were
easily beaten off by the Arabs aud rotirod to their boats with some losses.
An officer and about 60 men were surrounded in a tower and would probably
have been killed by the Arabs, if Bin Saud had not arrived in person, on
fhe 28 th, and sent "the party back to Bahrain.
In the meanwhile Major Nuris Bey had been superseded bjr Colonel
Abdul Jabbar Bey who had arrived ou the 23rd May to negotiate with
Saud. However, ho was not able to achieve anything and eventually, on
1st June, the “ John 0. Scott " left for Basrah with the Turkish troops.