Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the country’s most important oilfield, Heglig, in South Kordofan province early Monday morning. This move dealt a major strategic and economic blow to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
The army confirmed it pulled its troops out of the area, saying the withdrawal was deliberate “to protect the oil facilities from damage and sabotage.” An unnamed engineer told AFP that soldiers and civilian workers were quickly evacuated across the border into South Sudan. The nearby processing plant, which handles most of South Sudan’s oil exports, has also been shut down.
RSF official Youssef Alian said that a specially trained protection unit has taken over security duties and has limited access to the field to prevent attacks on the infrastructure. He called the capture “a pivotal point in the liberation of the entire homeland.”
The fall of Heglig is the latest success in the RSF’s push east and south after they took full control of Darfur last month. The oilfield is Sudan’s largest and a key source of revenue, giving the group more financial power and a clearer route toward the capital, Khartoum.
Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023 between the army and the RSF and is now in its third year. The conflict has killed tens of thousands, forced over 12 million people from their homes, and left about 30 million—more than half the population—in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Losing Heglig shifts the balance of power and resources in the war.
