MILAN, Italy — In attempts to face down the myriad militias in the fractured country that is modern Libya, the UN-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj is looking to partner with one of its former colonial occupiers: Italy.

The Sarraj-led government has communicated with Italian authorities in an attempt to counter human smugglers, but the fragile government is being forced to walk a very fine line between accepting much-needed international assistance and upsetting its population.

“Starting in 1911 — and particularly in the 1930s — Italy’s actions on Libyan soil were hideous,” Jalel Harchaoui, a doctoral candidate in geopolitics at Paris 8 University and a frequent commentator on Libyan affairs, told Al-Monitor. “And it is true that one century is a short amount of time for those types of historical memories. The latter are still vivid in Libyan minds, no question about it.”

Italy colonized Libya in 1911 and stayed in the country until 1947. Their stay was largely defined by Italy’s fascist regime that committed a number of atrocities, starting with a massacre in Tripoli, the capital, in 1911. During this period, Italy also persecuted Arabs, Berbers and Jews in North Africa.