Omar Al-Mukhtar: The Italian Reconquest of Libya

Enzo Santarelli

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1850771359 ISBN 13: 9781850771357

Publisher: Darf Publishers Ltd, 1986

Omar al-Mukhtar was the resistance fighter who most epitomized the struggle against Italian domination in Libya in the period between the two World Wars. His courage and charisma, and his popularity both as a military and religious figurehead, made him the natural leader of his oppressed people in their attempt to free themselves of fascist tyranny. Known as 'The Lord of the Night', because only during the daylight hours could the Italians claim the country to be under their control, the eventual capture and execution of Omar al-Mukhtar marked the virtual end of organised resistance in Libya. It is against the background of his life, capture and execution in September 1931, that the authors set their wider study of the fascist recolonization of Libya. Originally published in Italy in 1981, the work is here republished in English translation for the first time.