London, June 26. WHILE British and Allied forces continue to advance slowly towards their objectives, there are growing indications that Vichy is greatly wor ied over the situa n of its forces in Syria.
The Istanbul correspondent of the Independent French news agency reports that four Vichy generals in Syria have been superseded, and that the exodus from Syria continues, ith 150 Germans and Italians forming the latest batch of refugees arriving in Istanbul.
Herr Otto Abetz, German Am-Dassador to France, has arrived in Berlin, according to' the Berlin cor~ respondent of "Die Tat" The aim of his visit, it is reported, is to inform the German Government, in accordance with Vichy's wishes, of the "exceptional deterioration" in_ the situation of Vichy forces in Syria following the fall of Damascus, 'Merj Ayoum' Reoccupied Meanwhile, it is officially announced in Cairo that British and Australian troops have reoccupied Mer} Ayoum and taken the village of bales Saki, two miles to the east, These. successes followed several days of hard fighting in which British and Australian troops came to close grips with the Vichy French defenders, who nally withdrew under threat of ehcirelement, 7 Allied troops, according to mili tary circles in "Cairo, now hold a road ten miles north-west of Damascus, while on the coastal sector Australians are making slow progress towards Vichy hillside posi tions of Damour, ten miles south of Beirut which is undergoing constant shelling from British land and naval artillery.
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