Bashir: S. Sudan's oil decisions suicidal

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- A decision by the government of South Sudan to stop shipping oil through transit networks in Sudan was suicidal, the Sudanese president said.

South Sudan said last month it was halting oil production in response to the oil-transit dispute.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said the decision amounted to suicide, noting the exchange rate for the regional currency actually made the government in Juba the loser, the Sudan News Agency reports.

He added that his country counted billions of dollars worth of gold deposits among its natural resource wealth.

Land-locked South Sudan is in a political row with Sudan's government over transit fees for oil. South Sudan gained control over most of the region's oil reserves when it became an independent country in July, though it relies on export pipelines through Sudan.

The sides last week signed a non-aggression pact during talks in Ethiopia, though there's little change on the ground, al-Jazeera reports.

South Sudan became an independent state as part of a 2005 peace agreement signed with Washington's help. Ethnic conflict and disputes over oil are threatening to unravel the peace, however.