Sudan: Health Crisis Deepens for 1,700 Sudanese Migrants Detained in Qanfuda Prison, Libya.

In Qanfuda Prison, located in Benghazi, Libya, the health of approximately 1,700 detained Sudanese nationals is rapidly declining, according to reports from affected families and eyewitnesses. Libyan authorities conducted a sweep of illegal migration across eastern Libya between May and August 2026, resulting in the detention of the Sudanese migrants.

The detainees include individuals with chronic illnesses, all of whom are housed in a prison lacking basic services. Libyan authorities have demanded that the detainees pay for their own deportation, a request that is unfeasible for most of the migrants, who lack the financial means. Consequently, detainees find themselves in indefinite detention with no clear avenue to release, a punishment that exacerbates their poverty rather than resolving their migration status.

The Darfur Network for Human Rights (DNHR) is urging Libyan authorities to immediately release the detainees and facilitate their safe return home without imposing a financial burden on them. They also appeal for urgent medical attention for those with chronic illnesses and for the prison conditions to meet basic humanitarian standards.

The DNHR is urging the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and relevant UN migration bodies to engage with Libyan authorities to gain independent access to Qanfuda Prison, press for the release of the detainees, and support safe, voluntary repatriation for those who wish to return home. The DNHR is also calling on international donors and states with diplomatic influence in Libya to directly raise this case and provide return and reintegration assistance to the detainees, preventing them from relying on resources they cannot afford.