Libya was a base and theater of operations during the Second World War for almost three years (see africa, in this App.). In Cyrenaica, which suffered the most from the damage of the war, a measure of serious consequences was the withdrawal – ordered by the Italian authorities – of the metropolitan population, including that of the agricultural villages of Gebel, which began in 1941 and carried out in the two British offensives of 1941. and of 1942. Those villages were abandoned or destined for other purposes; some were occupied by nomads; the irrigation works destroyed; 60% of the crops are lost. At the beginning of 1948 there were only a hundred Italians left in Cyrenaica (including 12 missionaries and 41 nuns). Tripolitania suffered less devastation from the war; agricultural families were not cleared out en masse and this partially saved the crops in the settler villages and concessions. In March 1948 about 45,000 Italians remained in Tripolitania. The reforestations along the coast and secondary roads have been destroyed. Even in the city of Tripoli – evacuated on January 22, 1943 – the remaining Italians (about 20,000) were able to impose themselves on the respect of the natives and on the consideration of the occupants with their civic spirit and their intelligent activity. In the elections for the city of Tripoli (January 18, 1949) the list presented by the Italian committee was the winner. 000) have been able to impose themselves on the respect of the natives and on the consideration of the occupants with their civic spirit and their intelligent activity. In the elections for the city of Tripoli (January 18, 1949) the list presented by the Italian committee was the winner. 000) have been able to impose themselves on the respect of the natives and on the consideration of the occupants with their civic spirit and their intelligent activity. In the elections for the city of Tripoli (January 18, 1949) the list presented by the Italian committee was the winner.
The Fezzan (see in this App.) Was occupied by the French forces and temporarily placed under the French administration of the southern Algerian territories which kept it isolated from the rest of Libya, starting communications to the French ports of North Africa. considerably further away than the natural outlet of Tripoli.
Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, i.e. the four Libyan coastal provinces, have been under the British Military Administration (BMA) since the end of 1942 and the beginning of 1943, with the difference that in Cyrenaica, following the withdrawal of the Italian residents and officials, the English administration prevails in all fields with the contribution of local elements, especially Senussites, while in Tripolitania, Italian administrative bodies have been authorized to remain in operation, in secondary order, and Italian laws continue to be in force at some point amended. Chief administrator of Libya is gen. Blackley (for the Senussite question, see also Cyrenaica, in this App.). The United States of America had, in the last year of the war, built an aerodrome in el-Mallaha, near Tripoli, to support war actions in Europe and had then left it at the end of the war; in January 1948 they obtained from the British government to put the camp back into operation. For Libya 2018, please check ethnicityology.com.
During the British occupation of Libya, Italian citizens suffered from the current conditions and the distance of refugee families in Italy and prevented from returning; later, in 1947, the return to families in Tripolitania of a few thousand children who had been in Italy since 1940 was allowed. The continuation of the British occupation and the uncertainty of the final fate of the territory, allowed local agitators and foreign propagandists to stir up political movements of various sizes and purposes. But, nevertheless, relations between the local Italian population and the Arabs have remained excellent and have never given rise to any accidents. A brief episode of religious and racial fanaticism took place on 4 and 5 November 1945 in Tripoli, Tagiura, Zanzur and Zavia, when, Marking the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration for Palestine, Libyan Muslims hunted down Jews, killed hundreds and wounded many, obeying the directives of the anti-Jewish agitation promoted by centers in the Near East. A new minor conflict between Arabs and Jews occurred in Tripoli in early June 1948 during the Arab-Jewish war in Palestine.
