Battle of Al-Asaba'a
The Battle of Al-Asaba'a, on 23 March 1913, saw the end of the Tripolitanian resistance led by Sulayman al-Baruni against Italian colonialism.
Background
After the Italo-Turkish War and the Italian conquest of northern Libya in 1911–1912, despite the Ottoman withdrawal from the region, Italy faced severe anti-colonial resistance by local Senussi tribes. Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi was the first guerrilla to organize the tribes to fight together for the jihad against the Italians in early 1913. Sulayman al-Baruni, initially choosing a peaceful solution with the Italians, changed his mind and established the Tripolitanian Republic, probably because of influence from local Arab guerrillas, such as Shaykh Suf al-Mahmudi and Muhammad ben Abdallah, who believed that the only solution for autonomy was a fight against the Italians. His republic was supported by the Ottoman state with money and arms.In 1913, the war of resistance begun. The anti-colonial resistance numbered around 16,000 Senussi tribesmen and 5,000–15,000 Tripolitanians. Of the Tripolitanians, 2,000 were stationed at Al-Asaba'a, 1,000 at Rabta el-Garbia, and 500 at Bir el-Ghnem. Al-Baruni's ideas influenced more guerrilla leaders to join his cause such as Musa Grada, Sassi Khazam, Khalifa ben Askar, Yusuf Cherbisc, Mohammed Sof el-Mahmudi, Abubaker Ghirza, and Ali es-Shanta.
Battle
Sulayman al-Baruni attempted to secure autonomy for Berber territories by sending envoys to Rome with demands ranging from full autonomy to special privileges, while simultaneously consolidating power through distributing food during famine and using violence against Arab rivals. He destroyed opponents' homes, threatened Arab chieftains who had reconciled with Italy, and declared himself Emir of the Gebel. However, his ambitions collapsed when Italian Prime Minister Giolitti and Governor Ragni rejected any separate agreements with the Berbers, with Giolitti dismissing al-Baruni as delusional and ordering military action against him in March 1913. Despite Minister Bertolini's initial receptiveness to the Berber delegation's reasonable requests, the Italian leadership unanimously opposed creating autonomous entities in Libya.The army of the punitive expedition numbered between 5,000, 7,000, and 8,273 men, and was led by General Clemente Lequio, later nicknamed "of Assaba." The opposing force numbered around 2,000 tribesmen. According to Mohamed Fekini, it was the tribal leader Muhammad ben Abdallah who was in charge, and that Al-Baruni played "no role" in the battle. However, modern sources claim that he did in fact participate in battle and even suffered a wound in combat. Nevertheless, on Easter Sunday, 23 March, General Lequio led the Italian troops from Tebedut against al-Baruni's main forces at Al-Asaba'a. The Arab-Berber defenders fought well and attempted a flanking counterattack at 8:30 AM, but were repelled by Eritrean ascaris and the 8th Alpini Regiment. By 11:15 PM, facing encirclement, al-Baruni's forces retreated to Gasr Yafran, leaving 257 dea. Al-Baruni's forces were routed, and with that ceased the existence of the Tripolitanian Republic.