Tensions between South Sudan’s People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at the strategic Heglig oilfield have been contained following a misunderstanding, officials from both sides said on Sunday.

South Sudan deployed troops to the oilfield on December 10 under an unprecedented arrangement with Sudan’s warring parties aimed at securing the facility as fighting intensifies across Sudan’s Kordofan region.

The deployment came two days after the RSF seized control of Heglig, prompting units of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to retreat across the border into South Sudan, where they reportedly surrendered their weapons. The agreement seeks to neutralise the oilfield from active combat to safeguard 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. It also lies on the 1,600-kilometre pipeline that transports South Sudanese crude oil from the Unity oilfields to Port Sudan.

An RSF commander, Abdel-Hafeez al-Imam Qasoum, told Radio Tamazuj that tensions arose on Saturday after an RSF military vehicle moved near the oilfield, which is now secured by an SSPDF unit.

He said the situation 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 accused what he described as the “Port Sudan group”—a reference to Sudan’s army leadership based in the wartime capital—of spreading misleading reports aimed at undermining 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 oilfield but said it was swiftly contained to prevent any military confrontation.

The deployment of South Sudanese forces to Heglig is seen as a rare instance of cooperation between the rival Sudanese factions and Juba, underscoring the oilfield’s economic and strategic importance to both countries amid Sudan’s ongoing conflict.