Across Borders and Prison Walls: Keeping Families Connected During the Libya–Chad Conflict
One important chapter began during the Libya–Chad conflict, which lasted from 1978 to 1987. The conflict was shaped by territorial dispute, military confrontation and shifting regional alliances. But for the families affected, its consequences were much more immediate: separation, uncertainty, detention, injury, displacement and, for many, years of not knowing whether a loved one was alive.
In that context, the ICRC’s work was neither dramatic nor public. It often took the form of field visits, quiet dialogue with authorities, tracing requests, handwritten family messages and careful follow-up with prisoners of war and their relatives.
Across borders, Red Cross messages became fragile but vital links. They could not end the conflict, but they could restore something deeply human: the possibility for a mother, father, wife, husband or child to know that a loved one was still alive.
Hundreds of Red Cross messages moved between families each year, often becoming the only connection between detainees and those waiting for news at home.
Behind the walls of detention
ICRC delegates visited prisoners of war held in connection with the conflict. Where access was granted, delegates spoke privately with detainees, observed conditions of detention, registered information and raised humanitarian concerns confidentially with the authorities concerned.
In 1986, more than 660 prisoners of war were visited. Each visit had a simple but essential purpose: to help preserve dignity in places where people are especially vulnerable to losing it.
The ICRC’s role was not limited to visits. When releases took place, it often helped facilitate safe repatriation, supported communication with families and sought to confirm that individuals had returned home.
Neutrality as a working method
Even before the conflict intensified, the foundations for humanitarian dialogue were being developed.
Libya’s accession to the 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions formed part of this broader engagement with international humanitarian law.
In 1979, a seminar in Tripoli, organized with theLibyan Red Crescent, brought together practitioners and officials to discuss the rules of war and the protection of civilians.
In 1980, ICRC President Alexandre Hay visited Tripoli and met with senior Libyan officials. These discussions helped maintain a channel for humanitarian dialogue at a time when such channels were essential for access to people affected by the conflict.
That same year, Libya made an early contribution to the ICRC, including a significant donation in support of humanitarian action beyond its borders.
Visit of a Libyan delegation to the International Committee of the Red Cross, presenting a cheque for the donation.
Sabha: a humanitarian logistics hub in the desert
In 1983, a new humanitarian lifeline took shape in southern Libya.
With the agreement of the authorities, the ICRC established a logistics base in Sabha. From there, humanitarian assistance was channeled toward northern Chad, including medical supplies, relief items and other essential support for communities affected by the conflict.
The location mattered. Sabha allowed the ICRC to reach areas that were otherwise difficult to access and to support people who had been cut off from hospitals, markets and basic services.
From this base, assistance reached people whose needs were often far from public attention but immediate and severe.
Medical evacuation of seriously wounded patients by Piper Aztec aircraft to the central hospital in N'Djamena from Sabha.
The quiet discipline of confidentiality
Throughout the conflict, the ICRC relied on one of its core working methods: confidentiality.
Concerns about detainee treatment were generally raised privately, not publicly.
This was not indifference, nor was it silence. It was a deliberate humanitarian approach intended to preserve access, maintain dialogue with all parties and allow sensitive issues to be addressed directly with those responsible.
This approach did not guarantee success. It required patience, persistence and trust. It also required the ICRC to continue engaging even when progress was slow or incomplete.
The message remained consistent: all detainees must be treated humanely, families have the right to know the fate of their loved ones, and the rules of war continue to apply even in the most difficult circumstances.
An ICRC delegate verifies the reintegration conditions of former prisoners of war through private, one-on-one interviews conducted without witnesses.
When access was limited
Not all efforts succeeded.
Despite sustained engagement, the ICRC was at times denied access to Libyan prisoners held in Chad after active hostilities had ended. In some cases, private interviews were restricted, and transfers took place without ICRC oversight.
These limitations mattered. Without full access, the ICRC could not always carry out its work according to its standard procedures or provide the same level of protection and follow-up to detainees and their families.
Even under these constraints, engagement continued. The ICRC kept dialogue open and continued to raise humanitarian concerns with the relevant authorities.
This is also part of humanitarian work, which is built not only on what can be immediately achieved, but also on the effort to continue engaging when access is incomplete, sensitive or contested.
A legacy carried forward
The Libya–Chad conflict did not define the ICRC’s relationship with Libya, Chad or the region. But it did become part of a longer humanitarian history in the region.
During those years, channels of dialogue were opened, practical cooperation was built, and difficult conversations took place around detention, family contact, repatriation, medical evacuation and respect for international humanitarian law.
The experience also showed the importance of working across borders, maintaining contact with all sides and keeping people at the center of humanitarian action, even when political and military realities are complex.
Long before 2011, and before the crises that followed, there were already quiet and sustained humanitarian efforts shaping the ICRC’s work in Libya and the wider region.
