South Sudan refuses to withdraw from Heglig oilfield

It was announced on Wednesday that South Sudanese forces had captured the Sudanese border town of Heglig and the surrounding oilfield. South Sudan claimed that the town was taken as part of the process of repulsing a Sudanese attack and as a preventative measure against the organisation of further Sudanese attacks from that region. 

The capture of the town and the refusal by South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, to withdraw his nation’s troops from the region has caused international outcry.

The town of Heglig is recognised by the international community as belonging to Sudan, however South Sudan disputes this view.

"Meaningless War"

President Kiir said, “I always say we will not take the people of South Sudan back to war, but if we are being aggressed like this we will have to defend ourselves … I am appealing to the citizens of the Republic of Sudan, especially the mothers, not to allow their children to be dragged into a meaningless war.”

The African Union and the United Nations have expressed alarm and have urged restraint. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon suggested a presidential summit to resolve the situation and asked that both sides “cease hostilities immediately.”

Ongoing conflict

The Heglig oilfield is of vital importance to the Sudanese economy and was responsible for approximately half of the country’s 115 000 bpd output.

After losing the majority of its oilfields to South Sudan when that nation became independent, it is highly unlikely that Sudan will allow any further loss to occur without a struggle: Sudan has already threatened to use “all legitimate means” to reclaim the field.

Sudan has announced that it has begun to mobilise its army to retake the field and it has also been reported that Sudanese aircraft have begun bombing runs, with five bombs dropped on a bridge in Unity state.

The ongoing dispute between Sudan and South Sudan and the resulting suspension of all of the latter’s oil production has been cited, along with the sanctions on Iranian exports, as one of the key reasons behind the inflated oil prices that have dominated headlines this year.

Written by David Bizley

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