The Libyan city of Kufra has become a sanctuary for thousands of Sudanese refugees fleeing the brutal conflict in the homeland.

Kufra is the first Libyan city accessible from the southern borders of Egypt, Sudan, and Chad.

It is located in a particularly isolated part of the Sahara Desert surrounded by extensive date palm plantations.

Over the past couple of years, the oasis city has become home to tens of thousands of Sudanese.

Unlike many other places along migration routes, the people of Kufra had been welcoming and supportive of the Sudanese.

The residents of Kufra are accustomed to trading with these neighbours and share the same religion.

Sudanese people are everywhere in Kufra, working as porters, receptionists, waiters, teachers, labourers. They often sit in groups at the roundabouts, waiting for someone to hire them for the day.

A UNHCR report in February told the story of Morsin, who fled El Fasher, where the Rapid Support Forces have committed “hallmarks of genocide”.

Morsin came with his parents, his wife, his two children, and his sister.

“Here, Libyans treat us like brothers,” he said.

He has found work and rented an apartment. His sister works as a doctor in a Kufra hospital.

The city, geographically isolated and historically marginalised, has suffered from a shortage of healthcare workers for years.

Reports says more than 65 per cent of Kufra’s medical staff are Sudanese.

Other Sudanese live in far more difficult conditions, largely in eight camps that have sprung up.

They are known as “farms,” because they are abandoned agricultural plots.

The closure of the border with Sudan in July 2025 reduced the number of arrivals: since then, Sudanese refugees have had to pass through Chad.

But only people who can pay around $US60 per person can continue on to Libya.

In February, Chad also announced the closure of its border with Sudan, further complicating the passage for refugees.

According to the UNHCR, the war in Sudan – which has seen the Sudanese regular army fighting against the Rapid Support Forces militia since April 2023 – has forced nearly 12 million Sudanese to flee their homes.

Of these, more than three million have left the country, with 550,000 arriving in Libya – the second most popular destination after Chad.

Between 40,000 and 60,000 Sudanese are currently estimated to be in Kufra, almost doubling the city’s usual population.

But the figures are difficult to be sure of because of the movement of people towards coastal cities and the vastness of the desert.