 The other main commanders of the uprising included the former VKJ officers Colonel Bajo Stanišić and Major Đorđije Lašić . Within six weeks , a force of 67 @,@ 000 Italian troops , assisted by Muslim and Albanian irregulars from border areas who provided flank security , regained control of all towns and communication routes in Montenegro . General Alessandro Pirzio Biroli , the Italian military governor of Montenegro , issued orders to crush the revolt but directed his forces to avoid " acts of revenge and useless cruelty " . Nevertheless , dozens of villages were burned , hundreds were killed , and between 10 @,@ 000 and 20 @,@ 000 inhabitants were interned in the revolt 's suppression . For a while , the Muslim and Albanian irregulars were permitted to pillage and torch villages . As soon as the Italians launched their offensive , politicians in Berane abandoned their support for the uprising and began criticising it . Former VKJ officers deserted their units and Đurišić left the military committee organising the uprising in the Berane district . The politicians and officers formed their own committees and approached the Italians to express their loyalty and denounce the communists . 
