Tensions between South Sudan’s People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at the Heglig oilfield have been contained following a misunderstanding, officials from both sides said.
South Sudan deployed troops to the strategic Heglig oilfield on Dec. 10 under an unprecedented agreement with Sudan’s warring parties to secure the facility as fighting intensifies across Sudan’s Kordofan region.
The move came two days after the RSF captured Heglig, forcing Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) units to retreat across the border into South Sudan, where they reportedly surrendered their weapons.
The agreement aims to neutralise the oilfield from combat, protecting a critical source of revenue for both countries.
Heglig, located along the Sudan–South Sudan border, hosts key oil infrastructure, including production wells and a processing facility, and lies on the 1,600-kilometre pipeline transporting South Sudanese crude oil from the Unity oilfields to Port Sudan.
An RSF commander, Abdel-Hafeez al-Imam Qasoum, told Radio Tamazuj on Sunday that tensions arose on Saturday over the movement of an RSF military vehicle near the oilfield, which is now secured by an SSPDF unit.
He said the issue was resolved amicably and did not escalate into violence.
“There was no armed confrontation with the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces,” Qasoum said, dismissing reports of deadly clashes as “false propaganda.”
He blamed what he called the “Port Sudan group” — a reference to Sudan’s army leadership based in the wartime capital — for spreading misleading reports aimed at straining relations between the two forces.
“This is merely false propaganda intended to cause strife between us and the forces of South Sudan,” he said.
South Sudanese military sources also confirmed that a disagreement occurred at the Heglig oilfield but said it was quickly contained to avoid any military confrontation.