Lion of the Desert

Lion of Desert - Omar Mukhthar P1

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• published: 20 Jan 2012
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Omar Mokhtar: Omar Mokhtar was from the tribe of Mnifa, born in a small village called Janzour located in the eastern part of Barqa not to be confused with the city of western Libya called Janzour which is more well known. He was the leader of the resistance movement against the Italian military occupation of Libya for more than twenty years. A teacher of the Quran by profession, Mukhtar was also skilled in desert tactics. He knew his country's geography well, and used that knowledge to his advantage in battles against the Italians, who were not accustomed to desert warfare. He repeatedly led his small, highly alert groups in successful attacks against the Italians, after which they would fade back into the desert terrain. Mukhtar's men skillfully attacked outposts, ambushed troops, and cut lines of supply and communication. The Italians were left astonished and embarrassed to have been outsmarted and tricked by mere "Bedouin." Italian Invasion in Libya: In October of 1911, Italian colonial battleships reached the shores of Tripoli, Libya. The Italian's fleet leader, Farafelli, made a demand to the Libyans to surrender Libya to the Italians or the city would be destroyed at once. The Libyans fled, but the Italians attacked Tripoli anyway, bombing the city for three days and thereafter proclaiming the Libyan population in Tripoli to be "committed and strongly bound to Italy." The event marked the beginning of a series of battles between the Italian occupiers and the Libyan Omar Mukhtar's forces. Feeling that they may lose Libya to the Mojahideen, the Italian authorities sent one of their bloodiest high ranking officers Badolio who used the most inhuman measures to end the resistance. He did not just lead the fight against Omar Al-Moktar and his comrades, but he also punished even those who were living peacefully in the cities and villages accusing them of helping the Mojahideen. Badolio was not the only one whome the Italian government thought able to end the Libyan resistance through using the most inhumane and blodiest measures. Mosoliny, the infamous Italian dictator, sent another high ranking officer to kill thousands and thousands of inocent Libyans, young and old. fighters and non-fighters. Mosolini thought that the solution to the Libyan problem was Rodolfo Grasiani and by sending him to lead the fight against the Libyans he was telling his cabinet that anything and everything must be done to control Libya. Major Battles: The Italians first concentrated their attack on the coast cities, Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Derna. Major battles took place in Al-Hani near Tripoli (October 23, 1911) , Ar-Rmaila near Misrata, Al-Fwaihat near Benghazi (March 1912) and Wadi Ash-Shwaer near Derna. Other battles took place on the coast and in other cities, villages, mountains and desert. One of the major battles was Al-Gherthabiya near Sirt (April 1915) where the Italians lost thousands of their soldiers. Although the Italians succeeded in controling most of Libya after years of resistance and struggle (Jihad), they could not control the whole country because the Libyan fighters (Mojahideen) left their homes and headed for the mountains where they planned their attacks against the Italian armies. Some of the major Libyan fighters (Mojahideen) against the Italians were Omar Al-Moktar, Ramazan As-Swaihli, Mohammad Farhat Az-Zawi, Al-Fadeel Bo-Omar, Solaiman Al-Barouni and Silima An-Nailiah to name a few. Omar Al-Moktar is considered the great symbol for the Libyan resistance (Jihad) against the Italian occupation. He reorganized the Mojahideen in The Green Mountain (Aj-Jabal Al-Akdar) North East Libya and he re-ignited the resistance against Italy after World War I when the Italians thought that they succeeded in silencing the Libyan resistance.