KHARTOUM, Sudan/ ISTANBUL

Seven tribal leaders and dozens of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters were killed on Tuesday in a drone attack near the Heglig oilfield in West Kordofan in southern Sudan, local sources said.

The attack came one day after the RSF seized control of the Heglig field, and forced Sudanese army personnel forces to evacuate engineers and workers to South Sudan.

Local sources told Anadolu that an unidentified drone targeted prominent tribal leaders in the Fama area near Heglig, causing the fatalities.

The RSF claimed that the drone that attacked the area belonged to the Sudanese army.

There was no immediate comment from the army on the accusation.

On Monday, the RSF announced its takeover of the Heglig oilfield on claims of securing vital oil facilities in the area.

The three Kordofan states – North, West, and South – have seen weeks of fierce fighting between the army and the RSF, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except for some northern parts of North Darfur that remain under army control. The army, in turn, holds most areas of the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and center, including the capital Khartoum.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has since killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.