The battle for Enugu, capital of rebellious Biafra, has begun, with the leader of the besieged secessionist city crying to his people, "Let us be prepared to die." Reliable sources confirmed that federal soldiers started to fire mortar shells into the city Friday night, an act that meant they were just a few miles away in the hills and bush that lead to Enugu. Just after midnight Saturday, Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, leader of Biafra, underscored the meaning of the shelling in a bitter and foreboding speech that exhorted his people to fight to the end. First Ojukwu reminded them that Friday had been the first anniversary of the massacre that saw the killing of 30,000 Ibo tribesmen who lived in Northern Nigeria. This massacre triggered the bitterness and resentment that led the lbos of the Eastern Region to secede from Nigeria on May 30. Ojukwu said that the same forces were "now making frantic efforts to reach Enugu." "Let us be prepared to die so that our children may live." Ojukwu said...

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