Previously, if Italy had tried to carry out genocide on such a massive scale in North Africa, it would inevitably have drawn condemnation from the international community. North Africa lay too close to the so-called "civilized world"; the slightest stir could easily be detected.
But Italy's position in the international community was now highly delicate. A preliminarily unified Italy was Europe's sixth-largest power, and its value as a potential ally had increased dramatically. Britain and France in particular least wished to see Italy join the former Central Powers camp.
In North Africa, however, the only countries capable of stopping Italy happened to be Britain, France, and East Africa. France's colonies were concentrated in Northwest Africa, such as Morocco, Algeria, and western Libya (Tripoli), while Britain primarily controlled Northeast Africa, including Egypt (with Sudan) and British Somaliland. Italy's colonies lay sandwiched right between British and French possessions.
Finally, there was East Africa. Not only would East Africa not condemn Italy's actions, it actually supported them, because East Africa did not wish to have Arab religion as its neighbor.
The Red Sea colonies had been able to grow precisely because of East Africa's tacit consent. If the Abyssinian Empire's state religion had not been Christianity, East Africa might even have allowed Italy to swallow up the Abyssinian Empire whole.
Kalanshu Outpost.
This was the area where East Africa and Italy's Libyan colony came closest together. It lay only a little over a hundred kilometers from Italian-controlled Jalu Town, and it was also a region the future Libyan Railway would pass through.
This outpost had been established entirely because of the water source. Kalanshu Outpost stood in the Kalanshu Gravel Desert, an area of extreme aridity with no surface water, so it could only be supplied through groundwater.
In 1931, East Africa