The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has announced it has taken control of Sudan’s strategic Heglig oilfield in South Kordofan, marking a major escalation in the country’s two-and-a-half-year civil war.
The claim was later backed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which confirmed it had withdrawn from the area. The SAF said the withdrawal was aimed at preventing damage to vital oil infrastructure.
The RSF-affiliated “civil administration” head in the region, Youssef Alian, said the takeover was carried out under his coordination. He claimed a specially trained force had been deployed to secure the oil installations and protect them from sabotage.
“The liberation of the Heglig oil region is a pivotal point in the liberation of the entire homeland,” the RSF said in a statement.
Key Oil Hub Falls
The Heglig oilfield is Sudan’s largest oil-producing area and a critical processing hub for oil exports from neighbouring South Sudan, whose crude passes through the facility for export.
An unnamed oil engineer told news agency AFP that both military personnel and oilfield workers were evacuated across the border into South Sudan following the takeover. The engineer said the processing plant that handles South Sudan’s oil exports has been shut down.
In recent months, intensified fighting around Heglig has disrupted operations. In August, drone strikes forced authorities to temporarily suspend activity at the field.
RSF Expands Territory
The capture of Heglig reflects the RSF’s growing push to expand eastwards and southwards from Darfur, a region it seized full control of last month.
Last week, RSF fighters were battling for control of Babnusa, a strategic town in West Kordofan viewed as a gateway between Darfur and central Sudan. Analysts say the group’s eastward advance through the vast Kordofan region could open a route towards Khartoum, the capital, from which the army expelled RSF forces earlier this year.
The move could also give the RSF access to significant financial resources, as central Sudan is one of the country’s main agricultural and economic zones.
Worsening Humanitarian Crisis
Sudan has been gripped by war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the SAF and the RSF. According to the United Nations, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over 12 million, while nearly 30 million Sudanese now require humanitarian assistance.
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