Port Sudan to the Red Sea the only route for transporting South Sudan crude oil. (Photo/File/Courtesy).

South Sudan oil exports through the Port Sudan has reportedly been halted by crisis in Khartoum.

This is according to Michael Makuei, the Minister of Information and Telecommunication.

Sudanese protesters on Thursday closed Port Sudan Airport amid protests against the 2020 peace deal with rebel groups.

The protests resulted following complaints from the Beja tribes who are the majority in the commercial center of the Eastern Sudan criticizing the peace agreement, saying it does not represent them.

The protesters have blocked the main road connecting Port Sudan affecting operations at the port.

“The crises in Port Sudan has led to the closure of Port Sudan as a port and with the closure of Port Sudan, we are not in position to export our oil”, Michael Makuei was speaking to the media after the meeting on Friday.

“So the President has also been requested by the cabinet to make all the necessary contacts so that the oil can continue to flow”, Makuei says.

South Sudan relies entirely on neighboring Sudan’s infrastructure to transport its crude for export to the world.

The closure of the port comes days after Sudanese authorities thwarted an attempted coup allegedly by supporters of former long-time ruler Omar Al-Bashir in what it said was meant to derail the ongoing transition period following the latter’s ouster in 2019.