Omar Mukhtar-- Teacher Turned Freedom Fighter (part 2)

Omar Mukhtar and the Libyan Resistance

The Libyan resistance spread from the far western regions of the country (Zwara city) to the far east in the city of Salloum, and on down to the southern city of Fezzan. The Italians had the superior manpower and technology, but the Libyan mujahadeen had the kind of courage, and love for their county that any occupier would fear. Their numbers eventaully grew from less than a thousand, at the beginning of the resistance, to six thousand. They united to protect and defend their land, freedom, and honor from the foreign invaders, and they fought as religious men, proclaiming the words Allahu Akbar (God is great) with every battle they encountered. For the Italians, Libya was their "right" and they intended to make sure the Libyans understood that. Italy's deputy "Mazari", in 1914, stated "It's our obligation not to help in any way the Libyan nationalist, but to subdue and dominate them, and most importantly, to impose our presence on theirs, and to evict them to the Sahara."

The Italian-Libyan war was a David and Goliath battle. The Italians had the numbers (tens of thousands of troops), the tanks, and war planes. The Libyans had old rusted rifles, their horses, and a tremendous courage and determination to liberate their country. In some battles, the ratio of Italian to Libyan was 1: 50-100. However, even with the technology and numbers on their side, the Italians knew they had something to worry. The courageous resistance of the Libyans lasted nearly 20 years, and resulted in great losses for the Italians. But even more damaging than the losses in artilary and the casualties, there was a loss in morale among the Italians. The Italians were embarassed by the lack of power and control they had over the Libyan resistance.

In a desperate effort to weaken the resistance movement led by Mukhtar, the Italian fascists decided to imprison Libyan men, women and children in concentration camps. Entire tribes were imprisoned in desert areas hundreds of miles from their homes in mountainous regions. By holding these people in the camps, the Italians were weaking the Libyan resistance in two ways: they were cutting off economic and moral support for the resistance, and they were preventing more men from joining the resistance. Men and women were continually tortured, and the punishments became more severe whenever Mukhtar outsmarted the Italian army. About 125,000 Libyans were forced into these camps, about two thirds of which perished.

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