El Fasher was the last safe place in Darfur. Then every road in was blocked. Is it Human? Is it Right?
A city the size of two New Zealand cities, sealed shut
Until last year, El Fasher was the last safe place left in North Darfur. For two decades people fled there because it still had hospitals, schools and a working market. Picture the population of Dunedin and Hamilton combined, in a place the size of Nelson, and then picture every road in blocked. Not for a week. For eighteen months. By mid 2025 families were surviving on ambaz, a paste pressed from peanut husks and meant for animal feed. Mothers who had just given birth were too malnourished to breastfeed.
As people tried to flee, they found the city ringed by 57 kilometres of earth berms built to trap everyone inside. Our researchers gathered testimony from 70 survivors who crossed those berms on foot. Men and older boys were pulled aside and shot. Women and girls were taken. One of the last working hospitals became the site of a massacre.
Is it human? Is it right? Your donation makes this work possible. A gift helps us put what happened in Sudan in front of the people who can act.
"The worst thing that can happen is for Sudan to be forgotten."
Abdullahi Hassan, Amnesty researcher for Sudan
Naming those responsible is only the first step. Impunity is what let it happen before, and it will let it happen again unless our own government also acts on what we have documented, from reviewing arms exports to the UAE to opening pathways to safety for people fleeing Sudan. Add your voice and sign our petition calling on the New Zealand Government to do all it can.
Without Abdullahi. Without Amnesty. No testimony. No names. No case.
We will be honest about what we cannot do. We cannot send food to El Fasher or doctors to Tawila. That is not our work. Here is what we can do. Abdullahi Hassan is our researcher for Sudan. One person, covering two regions, working from Nairobi. He and his colleagues read and verified the testimony of those 70 survivors, confirmed what happened at the Saudi Hospital, and gathered enough evidence to publicly name three RSF commanders responsible for torture and for the execution of civilians trying to flee. Their names are now on the record. That matters, because impunity is the engine of this war. Twenty years ago the same forces burned Darfur and faced no consequences, so they came back. Putting names on the permanent record is how that cycle begins to break.
This is an appeal for Amnesty International's human rights work, with Sudan as the focus. Amnesty is impartial, reports violations by all parties, and works strictly within its human rights mandate. We document, we verify, and we use the evidence to push for protection and accountability.
Other ways you can support
If you prefer to donate via bank transfer, use the following reference details to make your deposit:
Account Name: Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand
Account Number: 38-9027-0385861-02
Particulars: Donor ID
Code: APP26-MYA
Reference: Your Full Name
Please contact our supporter care by email at info@amnesty.org.nz or call 0800 AMNESTY if you need assistance.
You can also help by spreading the word. Share our appeal with your friends and family so more people keep their eyes on Sudan.
With your support, we can keep gathering and verifying survivor testimony from across Sudan, analyse the evidence, and name those responsible for what happened to Sudan's people.
Thank you for helping us keep the truth on the record.