Battle of Uadi Bu Taga

Battle of Uadi Bu Taga
Part of the Jebel Akhdar campaign during the Second Italo-Senussi War
Omar Mukhtar entering the court room.
Date September 9, 1931 – September 11, 1932 (1931-09-09 – 1932-09-11) Location Uadi Bu Taga, near Slonta and Cyrene, Libya [1] Result Italian victory [1] [2]
Belligerents
Italy	Senusiyya
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Omar al-Mukhtar  (POW) Yousuf Burahil  (POW) Fadil Bu Umar (POW) [1]

The Battle of Uadi Bu Taga was fought in Libya in September 1931 between Italy and Senusiyya. The battle ended in a key Italian victory.

Battle

Thanks to the help of the air force, during the battle the Italian soldiers defeated the tribes of Braasa and Dorsa and a unit of Libyan Savaris of the Italian Army captured Omar al-Mukhtar, leader of the rebellion, on September 9, 1931. ^[2] He was later brought to Soluch and executed by hanging here on September 16. ^[3] His aides, including Yousuf Burahil and Fadil Bu Umar, were also executed on 24 September 1932. ^[4] Rodolfo Graziani stated that during the executions, 20,000 Bedouins were forced to assist the events to show that their aggression towards the Italian colonials was over.^{[ citation needed ]} At the end of the battle the heaviest clashes during the Second Italo-Senussi War also ended. The campaign was later declared over by General Pietro Badoglio on 24 January 1932. ^[5]

References

1. Libyan Heritage House.
2. Quirino 2003, p. 313.
3. Wright 1982, p. 35.
4. Ahmida 2006.
5. Wright 1982, pp. 35–36.

Sources

• Wright, John (1982). Libya: A Modern History . Kent, England: Croom Helm. ISBN   978-0-709-92733-4. OCLC   839398534.

• Libyan Heritage House. "The Battles of Kufra and Uadi Bu Taga: the Capture of Omar Al Mukhtar". libyanheritagehouse.org.

• Ahmida, Ali Abdullatif (2006). "When the Subaltern Speak: Memory of Genocide in Colonial Libya 1929 to 1933". Italian studies. 61 (2): 175–190. doi:10.1179/007516306X142924. S2CID   161690236.

• Quirino, Domenico (2003). Lo squadrone bianco (in Italian). Milan, Italy: Edizioni Mondadori Le Scie. ISBN   978-88-04-50691-1.