Libyan resistance movement

Libyan resistance movement (1911-1943)
Date1911-43
LocationItalian Libya, Egypt, Sudan
Result
  • Suppression of the rebellion by the Italians
  • Omar Mukhtar executed
  • Allied occupation of Libya and eventually Libyan independence in 1951
Belligerents

 Kingdom of Italy

 Libya
 British Empire (from 1942)
 France (from 1942)
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Italy Rodolfo Graziani Emir Idris of Cyrenaica
Omar Mukhtar 
Strength
~856,000 soldiers Thousands
Casualties and losses
Unknown

40,000[1]-70,000 dead[2] (battles, deportation, starvation etc.).

250,000-300,000 total loss (migration of indigenous) [3]
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Libyco-Berber era pre-146 BC
Roman era to 640 AD
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Italian occupation 1911–1934
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The Libyan resistance movement was the name given to the Libyans side during the during the "Pacification of Libya." it occurred between 1923 and 1932, for more than twenty years.

History

The Italian Empire seized the territory that is modern day Libya from the Ottoman Empire, and -according to dictator Gheddafi and his followers- implemented a genocide campaign on its occupants in Cyrenaica, killing 20% of its population: the Italians committed many war crimes during the 'pacification,' including chemical warfare, not taking prisoners of war and instead killing even if they surrendered, and many more horrendous acts. [4]. Italian historians -like Tripodi-denied all these accusations as excessive and often "fake".

In the late 1930s the Libyans in the coastal areas were granted Italian citizenship as part of the fascist efforts to assimilate them and create the Imperial Italy in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. This reduced the appeal of the Libyan resistance movement to a few Arab/Berbers populations of the Fezzan area only, but this was practically non-existent until the arrival of British troops in the area in 1943.

Cyrenaica resistance (1923–1932)

The Libyan resistance was initially led by Omar Mukhtar (Arabic عمر المختار ‘Umar Al-Mukhtār) (1862 – 16 September 1931), who was from the tribe of Mnifa, born in a small village called Janzour located in the eastern part of Barqa.

Later King Idris and his Senussi tribe in the provinces of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania started to become opposed to the Italian colonization after 1929, when Italy changed its political promises of moderate "protectorate" to the Senussi (done in 1911) and – because of Benito Mussolini – started to take complete colonial control of Libya.

Resistance was totally crushed by General Rodolfo Graziani in the 1930s and the country was again controlled by the Italians with the help of Arab fascists, to the point that many Libyan colonial troops fought on the side of Italy between 1940 and 1943: two divisions of Libyan colonial troops were created in the late 1930s and 30,000 native Libyans fought for Italy during World War II.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mohamed Fekini and the Fight to Free Libya - Angelo Del Boca,Antony Shugaar
  2. ↑ A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures - Prem Poddar,Rajeev Shridhar Patke,Lars Jensen
  3. ↑ John L. Wright, Libya, a Modern History, Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 42.
  4. ↑ Gheddafi stated that: women were raped and disembowelled, libraries were burned, homes and religious institutes were bombed). The Libyans were fighting against the Italians' tanks and aerial warfare with guns. They were also pushed into concentration camps, an idea that would later be used by Hitler against the Jews, and ethical cleansing was also done
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