The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Monday that they had taken control of the Belila airport in the state of West Kordofan, while workers at the Belila oil field reported being evacuated due to an RSF attack.
These incidents occurred as the feuding RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) reconvened for another round of peace talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
According to the RSF, the Belila airport in West Kordofan State was used by the army to launch warplanes. As a result of the fighting, workers at the Belila oil field, responsible for a significant portion of Sudan's modest oil production of 10,000-12,000 barrels per day, were evacuated on Sunday night.
In a statement, RSF assured that both the airport and the oilfield would be allowed to continue operating.
"We assure the oil companies operating in the Belila fields that our forces are now in their camps and have nothing to do with the airport or the oil fields, and that they can continue to work for the benefit of the Sudanese people, although we are fully aware that oil money does not enter the treasury in a way that serves our people," RSF said.
Meanwhile, clashes between the RSF and the SAF have continued in recent days in the towns of El Obeid and El Fasher in the west of the country.
Since April 15, Sudan has been plagued by clashes between the country’s national army and the paramilitary RSF. The conflict stems from disagreements between General Abdel Fattah Burhan, head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council and commander of the armed forces, and his deputy and former ally, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
General Dagalo accused General Burhan of being reluctant to transfer power to the civilian government. In October 2021, both leaders led a coup against the interim civilian government of Dr. Abdalla Hamdok.
The ongoing crisis has led to a severe humanitarian situation, with nearly 6 million people displaced and thousands of lives lost. The capital, Khartoum, has been severely damaged, and ethnic violence has erupted in the states of the western region of Darfur.
The RSF, whose influence is concentrated mainly in Darfur, is seeking to gain control of key infrastructure and transportation routes in western Sudan in an effort to limit the army's operations.
Last week, the paramilitary forces announced the capture of Nyala, Sudan's second-largest city and the capital of South Darfur state, along with complete control over the SAF's 16th Infantry Division stationed there. RSF claimed that the Sudanese regular army suffered losses of up to 2,000 soldiers in the clashes.