7 OCTOBER 1911, Page 17

On Tuesday the Italian Government formally announced the blockade of

Tripoli to the Powers. At half past three on the same afternoon the bombardment of Tripoli began, as the Turkish commander had refused to surrender. The Turkish fire from the forts was quite ineffective and failed to reach the Italian ships, which were not hit and suffered no casualties. Great care is said to have been taken by the Italian gunners to fire only on the forts and to avoid damaging any public buildings. The Vali's palace, however, was badly injured, and the lighthouse, which was near one of the forts, was destroyed. We will say no more here, as we have discussed the outlook of the war elsewhere.