270 
THE EASTEKN SOUDAN. 
Capture of 
Asobvi and 
El Faslier. 
Our 500 levies were off in an hour after they had 
received their afternoon orders, half for El Fasher 
and half for Asobri. Both posts were successfully 
surprised on the morning of the 21st of December. 
The commander of El Fasher was among the killed, with about 
thirty of the garrison ; the remainder fled to Gedarif. At Asobri the 
Dervishes retired into their loop-holed enclosure and resisted, losing 
fifty camels and 1,000 goats. At El Fasher there was no loot, conse¬ 
quently no inducement for the Dervishes to remain. Asobri was in¬ 
vested and the investing force, reinforced by the El Fasher contingent, 
numbering some 500 in all, formed a cordon. The investment lasted 
six days ; on the evening of the sixth day a sortie was made, as all pro¬ 
visions and water had run out. Half of the Dervish force succeeded 
in breaking through the cordon and fleeing in the direction of Rera. 
Had we had guns, not a Dervish would have escaped—the post 
would have fallen. Application was made to the Italian authorities 
for the loan of two of their mountain guns on condition we paid for 
ammunition expended and found the personnel for working the guns. 
The request was readily complied with and the guns were half-way 
between Kassala and Asobri when the news came of the sortie. 
Cs*.£>tux>e of These same levies elated with their successes at Aso¬ 
bri and El Fasher, were then detailed to take the 
Mu^atta S&XB.C& other two Dervish posts, Mugatta and Rera. On 
Rera * the 16th January, 1898, they occupied these two 
posts. At Mugatta the force of Dervishes retired without fighting. 
Rera feebly resisted in order to protect 1,300 sheep They eventually 
bolted and left their animals, which were brought into Kassala, togeth¬ 
er with ten prisoners. 
With Asobri, El Fasher, Mugatta and Rera ours, 
there remained Gedarif and Abu Delek. Our losses 
in these little actions were trivial owing to the Der¬ 
vishes being always surprised. They never seemed to be prepared for 
or expect attack. This unpreparedness may be possibly accounted for 
by the fact that the Italian troops had never worried them on the At- 
bara and west of that river. Abu Delek was captured on March llth. 
Our levies surprised, captured and burnt the encampment, taking forty- 
seven camels. Twenty Dervishes were killed. Musa Digua, the broth¬ 
er of Osman Digna, was wounded. Our losses again w^ere slight— 
we only lost three men, and that again was mainly due to the complete 
nature of the surprise. Our men got up to Abu Delek by 12 o'clock in 
the day and found the Dervishes asleep in their huts ; the firing of our 
men in their village startled them and they ran away. 
On the return journey the tables were turned, our 
men were attacked and surprised when about ten 
miles from the River Atbara. One would naturally 
ask who could have attacked them when the Dervish posts of Asobri, 
El Fasher, Rera, Mugatta and Abu Delek had been captured ? The 
fact of the matter was, as it ultimately transpired, the attacking force 
consisted of a relieving force sent by the Khalifa to reinforce Rera. 
Capture of 
Abu Delek. 
Surprise on 
tke Atb'toa.a?a.» 
