Kufra
الكفرة Cufra | |
|---|---|
  Kufra Location in Libya | |
| Coordinates: 24°11′N 23°17′E / 24.183°N 23.283°E | |
| Country |  Libya |
| Region | Cyrenaica |
| District | Kufra |
| Time zone | UTC +2 |
| License Plate Code | 20 |
Kufra (/ˈkuːfrə/) is a basin[1] and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of the 19th century, Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order.[1] It also played a minor role in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II.
It is located in a particularly isolated area, not only because it is in the middle of the Sahara Desert but also because it is surrounded on three sides by depressions which make it dominate the passage of the east-west land traffic across the desert. For the colonial Italians, it was also important as a station on the north-south air route to Italian East Africa. These factors, along with Kufra's dominance of the southeastern Cyrenaica region of Libya, highlight the strategic importance of the oasis and why it was a point of conflict during World War II.