BREAKING | RSF fighters seize Heglig oilfields

KHARTOUM — The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of the Heglig oil area in West Kordofan State, expanding gains against the Sudanese army only days after capturing the 22^nd Infantry Division headquarters in nearby Babanusa.

Videos geolocated by Sudans Post on Monday show RSF fighters inside the headquarters of the Sudanese army’s 90^th Infantry Brigade in Heglig. The brigade falls under Division 22, whose main base in Babanusa was overrun on December 1 after a two-year siege.

There was no immediate comment from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and it remains unclear in which direction army units withdrew from Heglig.

Heglig sits along Sudan’s border with South Sudan’s Unity State and hosts one of the country’s most important oilfields. It is also the main transit point for crude from South Sudan, which relies on pipelines running through Sudan to Port Sudan for export.

Any prolonged instability in Heglig could complicate South Sudan’s already fragile economy, where government revenue is overwhelmingly dependent on oil.

The RSF said its forces entered Heglig after army troops fled and described the area’s capture as a significant step in its nationwide campaign.

“The brave Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Monday morning successfully took control of the strategic area of Heglig in South Kordofan State after the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood army fled the area,” the RSF statement said.

“The liberation of the Heglig oil zone marks a pivotal point in the path toward freeing the entire homeland, given the area’s economic importance as a major resource that the Port Sudan clique has long relied upon to finance, expand, and prolong the war,” it added.

The paramilitary force pledged to protect vital oil installations and staff working in the area, saying it aimed to ensure uninterrupted crude flows to the “sisterly Republic of South Sudan.”

“Our forces affirm that they will secure and protect all vital oil facilities in the area to safeguard the interests of the people of the sisterly Republic of South Sudan, who depend heavily on oil that flows through Sudanese territory to global markets,” the statement said.

It also reiterated its commitment to a unilateral humanitarian truce while reserving its right to self-defense.

“We further reiterate that we will provide full protection to all engineering and technical teams and workers in the oil facilities, ensuring an environment that allows them to carry out their duties safely,” it further added.

The takeover of Heglig follows the fall of Babanusa, where the RSF’s advance and the army’s inability to resupply the garrison led to the collapse of Division 22. Last month, the RSF shot down an IL-76 transport aircraft near Babanusa, severing a key supply line and killing the crew.

The loss of Heglig further strains the army’s footprint in West Kordofan as it is the last territory in the entire state to be under the Sudanese military control. It fall adds to a series of battlefield setbacks since RSF forces broke through SAF positions in El Fasher in November.