Sudanese opposition parties have described President Omar Al-Bashir’s unilateral decision to stop the flow of South Sudan’s oil as “childish”.

Engineer Siddig Yousif, who represents the Sudanese Communist Party in the National Consensus Forces, an alliance of 22 opposition political parties, says if the oil is shut down, it will affect the economies of both Sudan and South Sudan.

“This is a childish decision and it is not in the interest of Sudan and South Sudan, it is against the interest of the two nations, and this is the way the National Congress Party behaves,” Eng. Yousif told Eye Radio.

Mr. Yousif added that the move is personal:

“…it neither values the interest of the people of Sudan nor values the importance of relations with South Sudan.”

Engineer Yousif also claims that President Al-Bashir will be forced to reverse his decision “because his government is in a dire need of hard currency.”

He urged President Bashir to implement the Cooperation Agreement that he signed with South Sudan in September last year. ”

Last September, the two countries agreed to resume oil exports via Port Sudan and implement eight other agreements.

However, the agreement did not take effect as Khartoum pushed for guarantees that South Sudan stops backing the Sudanese rebels, an accusation it denies.