Argentina loses jets, British frigate sinks
London (AP) — Britain said its
jets, missiles and shore gunners
shot down at least seven Ar
gentine warplanes as a new
battle raged Monday over the
British beachhead on the Falk
land Islands. Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher ruled out a
cease-fire sought by Pope John
Paul II.
The British Defense Ministry
announcement said an eighth
Argentine plane was seen leav
ing the battle trailing smoke and
acknowledged the sinking of
the British frigate Antelope,
which was set ablaze in an air
raid Sunday.
The Argentine government
admitted the loss of two planes
but claimed its raidefs did "ser
ious damage” to a troop tran
sport and ‘‘damage" to a
frigate. The Buenos Aires com
munique identified neither ship
but the Argentine Embassy in
Washington said the transport
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was the converted liner Can
berra
The British Defense Ministry
said some ships may have been
damaged but gave no details
The Argentine Joint Chiefs of
Staff in an earlier communique
claimed one of Britain’s carrier
based Harriers was shot down
by anti-aircraft fire during a raid
on Stanley, the Falklands capi
tal 50 miles east of San Carlos
British Defense Secretary
John Nott claimed more than a
third of Argentina's air force has
been destroyed in the unde
clared war and more ships were
arriving to reinforce the British
task force.
"There is no question of a
truce," Nott told the House of
Commons He said the British
still have a difficult fight ahead
but “one thing is certain, the
days of the occupying Argen
tine garrison are numbered "
In a later interview with the
British Broadcasting Corp., he
said, "The task force com
mander has been told to
repossess the Falkland Islands
at the earliest possible oppor
tunity.”
He called the idea of a cease
fire accompanied by negotia
tions on sovereignty over the
South Atlantic islands "ab
surd ” "There's a new situa
tion," he added "We’re not go
ing to talk about sovereignty at
the moment we are trying to
retake the islands "
In its report on the Antelope,
the British Defense Ministry said
fires aboard the frigate went out
of control despite efforts by the
crewmen and they were forced
to abandon ship They were
transferred to other vessels, it
said, and "there were no further
reports of casualties "
The ministry refused com
ment on a report by Press As
sociation, Britain’s domestic
news agency, that an Argentine
bomb had lodged in the An
telope's engine room and ex
ploded when technicians tried
to defuse it, killing one person
and wounding seven
The ship was hit while oper
ating in Falkland Sound, which
separates the two main islands,
West Falkland and East Falk
land
According to the British ac
counts, Argentine air attacks
have sunk two frigates, the An
telope and its sister ship Ardent,
and damaged four other war
ships since the British task force
landed a reported 5,000 troops
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Neither Britain nor Argentina
allows foreign reporters in the
battle area and dispatches from
their own correspondents are
subject to censorship There
are British newsmen with the
war fleet and Telam has
reporters on the Falkland Is
lands
Nott spoke to Commons soon
after Mrs Thatcher rejected the
pope's latest plea for a cease
fire She said Britain would not
stop fighting until Argentine
troops withdraw from the British
colony they seized April 2
Argentina's ruling military
junta in turn accused Britain of
an "absurd colonialist venture"
to retake the islands Argentina
calls the Malvinas
The junta also denounced the
Common Market for Indefinitely
renewing trade sanctions Mon
day and warned the United
States to stop supporting the
British.
Defense Minister Amadeo
Frugoli said the United States is
the West's most important na
tion and "must think seriously
about the gravity of the situation
and adopt a more balanced po
sition."
President Ronald Reagan, at
a White House press briefing,
said the United States has no
plans to provide assistance to
Britain "in the sense of troops or
anything involved in the fight
ing " Washington declared its
backing of Britain after media
tion efforts by Secretary of State
Alexander M Haig Jr collapsed
last month
In London, Defense Ministry
spokesman Ian McDonald said
waves of Argentine Mirage and
Skyhawk warplanes roared over
Falkland Sound and were en
gaged by Harrier |ets, the war
ships and shore-based guns
and missiles of the San Carlos
invasion force Seven were shot
down and one fled in a trail of
black smoke, he said
McDonald said some ships
may have been damaged but
gave no details
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