The Egyptian sailors arrive in Mogadishu in preparation for their return to Cairo

Listen to the article. The audio text is automated, generated by an automated system

Ambassador Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian ambassador to Somalia, received the Egyptian sailors upon their arrival at Mogadishu Airport, where they were immediately transferred to the embassy headquarters under tight security and provided with accommodation, in preparation for their travel accompanied by the Egyptian ambassador to Cairo.

This comes based on directives from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and with follow-up from Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Aty, regarding following up on the return of Egyptian sailors from Somalia to Egypt.

Ambassador Nader Zaki, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the Egyptian embassy in Mogadishu has been keen, since the beginning of the detention process, to maintain constant communication with the sailors and their families. It has also made numerous contacts with officials in the federal government and the Puntland regional government, in addition to the owners of the ship and its cargo, to follow up on developments in the situation, in addition to the contacts made by the Egyptian embassy in Yemen with the authorities there.

The ambassador stressed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' greatest interest throughout the detention period was primarily focused on ensuring the security and safety of the sailors and pushing for their speedy release, and he expressed his sincere congratulations to the sailors' families for their safe return.

It is noteworthy that, more than 5 months after their kidnapping off the Somali coast, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced, last Wednesday, the release of 8 Egyptian sailors who had been detained on board a ship off the coast of the Puntland region in Somalia since May 2.

The oil tanker MT Eureka was pirated at the beginning of last May by Somali armed groups while sailing off the Yemeni coast, and 12 sailors were detained on board, including 8 Egyptians and 4 Indians. For 151 days, the families of the sailors waited for news of their relatives, amidst ambiguity surrounding the conditions of their detention and their fate, while negotiations for their release repeatedly faltered, due to disagreements regarding the value of the requested ransom.