Omar Mukhtar fought Italian fascist colonialism in Libya for 20 years. He was 73 years old when the Italians finally captured and publicly hanged him. His last words: 'We will not surrender. We win or we die.'
The Story of Omar Mukhtar — The Lion of the Desert
Born in 1858 in Cyrenaica (eastern Libya), Omar Mukhtar was a teacher of the Quran who became the military leader of Libyan resistance against Italian colonial occupation. Italy invaded Libya in 1911, expecting a quick conquest. What they got was two decades of relentless guerrilla warfare.
Mukhtar organized and led the Senussi resistance from the desert and mountains of eastern Libya. His forces used the terrain brilliantly — conducting lightning raids on Italian outposts, cutting supply lines, and disappearing before Italian reinforcements could arrive. Despite being vastly outnumbered and outgunned, his fighters inflicted continuous casualties on Italian forces.
When Mussolini came to power and intensified the Italian colonial campaign, the brutality escalated dramatically. Italy used poison gas, conducted aerial bombardment of civilian populations, and constructed a 300-kilometer barbed wire fence along the Egyptian border to cut off Mukhtar's supply lines. They imprisoned over 100,000 Libyan civilians in concentration camps where tens of thousands died.
Captured in 1931 at age 73, Mukhtar was put on trial before a military tribunal. Asked to apologize for his resistance, he refused. He was publicly hanged on September 16, 1931, in front of thousands of Libyan prisoners who were forced to watch as a warning. His last reported words: "We will not surrender. We win or we die." Libya commemorates him on its currency to this day.
Color Omar's Portrait
The Alphabet Book of Generals — Who Resisted White Supremacy and Won features a full-page coloring portrait of Omar with a color guide and fun fact. Perfect for children ages 4–12 and Black history education.
Get the Book on Amazon →