বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ তৃতীয় পত্র
Sydney Schanberg writes in the NEW YORK TIMES of July 16, 1971, as the still disorganised Bengali autonomy movement appears to be gaining momentum, the guerillas have been avoiding frontal battles but have inflicted a sizeable number of casualties", “the heaviest action has been in the Eastern border district of Sylhet, Comilla and Noakhali, specially in the latter where the guerillas have been able to keep the vital road and rail links between Chittagong and Dacca severed."
Clare Hollingworth in a despatch from Dacca writes in the DAILY TELEGRAPH of London on July 21 “Dacca has been without electricity since Bangladesh guerillas destroyed 3 vital Power stations with bombs on Monday night killing 13 guards in a gun battle at one.
Army experts say the guerillas know exactly where to place the charges to cause the most damage ... it will take months before new transformers can be imported to replace the destroyed installations."
The Correspondent of THE TIMES, London writes on July 21 “a new phase has began in the armed struggle for East Pakistan's independence. After spending a few days with Bangladesh liberation forces (Mukti Fouj), I cannot see the Pakistan army finding it easy to cope with them."
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, London writes on July 22 “inside the towns highly trained saboteurs are now operating in small groups of 3 and 4 dressed like poor Bengali villagers.
Correspondent of THE TIMES, London writes on July 23 “East Bengal freedom fighters claimed to have killed between 15,000 and 20,000 West Pakistan troops and wounded many others so seriously that they must have succumbed to their injuries in Hospital. In a special interview Col. M. A. Osmani, Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh forces told me, he was speaking exclusively of losses suffered by the Pakistan army.
Talking to different, Mukti Fouj (Liberation forces) Commanders in the Eastern Sector, I have tried to find out if their estimates vary. But if anything they tend to think Col. Osmani's estimate undoubtedly conservatives. “
Peter Gill writes in the DAILY TELEGRAPH, London on July 23 “Bangladesh guerillas have occupied an area of 150 sq. miles in the Jessore District of East Pakistan near the frontier with India."
Clare Hollingwolth writes in the SUNDAY TELEGRAPH on July 25 the Pakistan Army stopped all traffic leaving Dacca for the south or west for several hours yesterday. A captain politely explained that the road to Fatulla was closed because 'there is firing ahead'...... “after the roads had been reopened late yesterday, only a large new civilian lorry, destroyed near a road barrage, bore witness to what was clearly an incident between Pakistan army and guerillas. Fatulla is the site of an important electric Power Plant and Transformer which is now vital to maintain the erratic low power current available in Dacca since Monday, when two big substations in the city were destroyed by Bangladesh guerillas."
