The epithet "Lion of the Desert" sits well on the storied persona of Omar al-Mukhtar, a leader whose scholarship, strategic acumen and bravery shaped the course of Libya’s resistance against Italian colonisation.

But al-Mukhtar was more than just a revolutionary — he was the pulse of his nation, its ethos and aspirations.

Born around 1860 in the village of Zawiyat Janfur and orphaned early in life, he journeyed through much of his life with spirituality as his armour until the call of his land beckoned.

As an Islamic scholar and teacher within the Senussi Sufi order, al-Mukhtar always commanded respect. He would often be called upon to mediate and settle intertribal disputes, setting him up for the role he would later play in Libya’s chequered history.

For all his foresight and intuition, even al-Mukhtar perhaps couldn’t have expected the pivotal turn his life would take in 1911 when Italian troops landed in Libya with the objective of establishing a colony.

For over two decades, al-Mukhtar led his people through the unforgiving terrain of the Cyrenaican desert, outmaneuvering a technically superior enemy with the strength of belief that surrender was never an option.

 Defining moments

While the early years of the insurrection were spent balancing limited resources and strategies to take on the might of the Italian military, al-Mukhtar galvanised his fledgling army into a force to reckon with over time.

In tandem with Ottoman troops stationed in Libya, he would subsequently lead his followers through decisive moments like the Tripoli War and the Battle of Benghazi, both of which rattled the colonialists and fuelled the flames of resistance within Libya.

Al-Mukhtar's strategic brilliance and ability to motivate his people kept the fight alive through the trials and tribulations of twenty years of sustained resistance.

His forces disrupted Italian operations with precision, ambushing troops, striking outposts, and severing supply lines. His rallying cry – "We are people that will not surrender; we win or we die – became a call to arms every time spirits flagged.

Al-Mukhtar’s conviction was tested when Benito Mussolini's rise to power in fascist Italy in 1922 triggered an escalation in military aggression.

Empire strikes back

Frustrated by the relentless Libyan insurrection, Italian forces resorted to brutal measures, including putting tens of thousands of civilians – women, children and the elderly – in concentration camps.

General Rodolfo Graziani, who led the Italian military, gained infamy as “The Butcher of Fezzan” for scores of executions and scorched-earth tactics that included ordering soldiers to fill wells and burn entire crop fields.

As thousands died within the concentration camps from lack of food, water and medicine, Graziani employed another tactic to quell the resistance. He ordered the erection of a 200-mile-long barbed wire fence along the Egyptian border to ensure the Libyans didn’t receive reinforcements.

Such was the desperation that the Italian Air Force resorted to chemical warfare against the guerrilla forces in the desert.

A martyr’s death

In September 1931, during the Battle of Uadi Bu Taga, al-Mukhtar was captured. He was swiftly tried and, on September 16, 1931, executed by hanging in the Saluq concentration camp in front of his supporters.

While al-Mukhtar’s martyrdom was a blow to the resistance, the spirit of the lion couldn’t be caged. It would take over two decades more for Libya to declare independence from Italy on December 24, 1951.

The seeds of rebellion sown by al-Mukhtar had finally borne fruit.