On Saturday the Sudanese army said it had taken control of an area a few kilometres away from Heglig in South Kordofan.

Sudanese army spokesman Al Sawarmi Khaled Saad said the army is fighting South Sudan near the entrance to the oil fields in Heglig, which produced large amounts of oil crucial to the Sudanese economy.

South Sudan’s military spokesman Philip Aguer said Sudanese forces are still around 30 km from Heglig and are ‘trying to convince their people that they are making progress.’

Speaking to Al Jazeera, South Sudan’s minister of information Barnaba Marial Benjamin said Heglig is still under the control of Juba.

The UN estimates about 10,000 people have fled fighting in Heglig.