Athens, Aug. 24. 'OLUMNS of Italian mountain troops were reported to be occupying strategic passes in the rugged Albanian mountains facing the Greek frontier yesterday as Greece tensely awaited developments in rapidly worsening Italo-Greek relations.
No confirmation could be obtained of rumours that clashes between Italian and Greek frontier patrols had occurred.
The Greek Government today requisitioned 2,000 tons of gasoline and sent some of the stocks to the Albanian frontier as Greek vessels sought the safety of harbours at night.
The official Greek news agency, which until now has kept a circumspect silence regarding Italian and Albanian press attacks charging Greece with interning and persecute ing Albanian irredentists in Ciamuria, Epiros and other frontier areas, yesterday answered Albanian press re ports that Greece, through a Greek colonel of the gendarmerie, had been arming bands of terrorists in Epiros. The agency described the reports as "pure invention." The agency added that no such Greek officer exists.
Following an extraordinary session with King George carly yesterday morning, the Government called up special categories of the Army for a month's training. Machine-gun searchlight, special and mechanized units were among those called up.
At the same time, the Government denied reports that Italy bad demand ed that Greece renounce Britain's guarantee of assistance in case of attack, italo-Greek tension began with the murder of the Albanian irredentist Daut Hoggia, allegedly by Greeks in Albanian territory. The Italian cne Albanian press accused the Greek of exhibiting the decapitated head o he "Albanian patriot" from village t village along the Greek side of thr "Albano-Greek frontier.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.