First Battle of Heglig

First Battle of Heglig
Part of the Heglig Crisis
Date 26–28 March 2012 Location Heglig, Sudan Result South Sudanese victory
Belligerents
South Sudan	Sudan
Commanders and leaders
Salva Kiir	Omar al-Bashir
Strength
unknown	1,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
3	unknown
Heglig within Sudan.

The First Battle of Heglig was a military campaign of South Sudan that gave rise to the 2012 South Sudan–Sudan border conflict.

Conflict

On March 26, the Republic of Sudan claimed that South Sudan attacked the Heglig oilfield, located in the Sudanese state of South Kordofan, while South Sudan claimed that it was acting in self-defence after an attack on its territory.^[1]

The Republic of Sudan's Information Minister, Abdallah Ali Masar, confirmed that South Sudan had penetrated 10 km into Sudanese territory, but also claimed that Sudanese forces had repelled them and driven them back, and had taken several prisoners.

South Sudanese troops were ordered by their government to disengage and withdraw from the disputed area on 28 March. Dead bodies and destroyed vehicles lay strewn in Heglig, the oilfield where the bloody battles took place. Three bodies were identified as South Sudanese soldiers, while a tank as well as 4 pickup trucks were destroyed.

References