On 19 December, a high-level UNSMIL delegation led by acting SRSG Stephanie Koury visited Kufra to assess the ongoing humanitarian response for Sudanese refugees. The members of the delegation engaged with local authorities, partners, refugees, and host communities to discuss the implementation of the Sudanese Refugee Response Plan for Libya. UNHCR’s 2024 Sudanese Refugee Re sponse Plan for Libya targeted 194,000 Sudanese and host community members with humanitarian assistance, including in Kufra. Key achievements included providing healthcare services to 155,000 people, providing shelter and basic supplies to 50,000 people, providing protection services for over 73,000 people, and critical food assistance to 44,600 people. The 2025 plan aims to support up to 446,000 Sudanese refugees and host community members in Libya.
On 23 December, Ismail al-Ayda, head of Kufra’s emergency operations room, complained that inter national organisations have delivered less than 10% of the required aid for Sudanese refugees in the municipality. Humanitarian assistance has failed to match the scale of displacement facing the city, while waves of additional refugees arrive.
On 24 December, UNHCR called for strengthened financial support – USD 22 million – to address rising needs of Sudanese refugees arriving in Libya as numbers increase and temperatures cool. Since the beginning of the year, the number of Sudanese refugees in Libya has doubled, with currently an esti mated 400 arriving daily. The UN’s refugee agency estimated that currently about 210,000 Sudanese refugees are in Libya. There is an urgent need for assistance, including blankets, warm clothing, and reinforced shelter materials, to help refugees endure the winter period.