Oil engineers work at pumps station before a ceremony in which oil operations at Heglig oilfield will resume in Heglig. (File photo: Reuters)

Reports indicate that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) allegedly seized the Heglig oil field in Sudan, located along the border with South Sudan, early Monday morning.

Engineers who spoke to Eye Radio on condition of anonymity said the RSF entered the facility without resistance, as Sudanese army forces withdrew into South Sudanese territory.

According to one engineer, all Sudanese technicians and engineers moved into South Sudan’s Ruweng administrative area, while others relocated to Unity State, bordering South Kordofan in Sudan.

He added that representatives from the South Sudanese Ministry of Petroleum had withdrawn yesterday and reached Unity State due to security concerns. Consultations and negotiations are ongoing to allow technicians and engineers to return to the oil field and resume operations.

The Al Arabia news outlet quoted the RSF said in a statement Monday as saying: “The liberation of the Heglig oil region is a pivotal point in the liberation of the entire homeland, given the region’s economic importance,”

South Sudanese officials have not directly commented on the incident, with some stating they are still gathering information.

Heglig is located in the far south of Sudan’s Kordofan region, which has seen intense fighting in recent weeks as the RSF and the regular army compete for territorial control.

Last week, a drone attack in South Kordofan, blamed on the RSF, struck a kindergarten and hospital, killing dozens of civilians, including children, according to local officials and the army-aligned foreign ministry.

In October, the RSF pushed army troops out of their last positions in western Darfur, putting the military on the defensive as it attempts to halt the paramilitary advance through Kordofan toward Khartoum.

Sudan is now effectively divided: the army controls the north, east, and center, while the RSF and its allies hold the west and large portions of the south.