Arrival of Egyptian Sailors in Mogadishu in Preparation for Their Return to Cairo

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Ambassador Mohamed Salah, Egypt's ambassador to Somalia, welcomed the Egyptian sailors upon their arrival at Mogadishu Airport, where they were immediately transferred to the embassy under heavy security and provided accommodation, in preparation for their travel with the Egyptian ambassador to Cairo.

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

Ambassador Nader Zaki, the official spokesperson 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, and has made numerous contacts with officials in the federal government and the Puntland regional government, in addition to the ship owners and its cargo to monitor developments in the situation, as well as the communications made by the Egyptian embassy in Yemen with the authorities there.

The ambassador confirmed that the primary concern of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs throughout the detention period was to ensure the safety and security of the sailors and to push for their swift release, and he expressed his sincere congratulations to the families of the sailors for their safe return.

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

The oil tanker "MT Eureka" was hijacked in early May by armed Somali groups while sailing off the Yemeni coast, and 12 sailors were held on board, including 8 Egyptians and 4 Indians. For 151 days, the families of the sailors awaited news of their loved ones, amid uncertainty surrounding their detention conditions and fate, while negotiations for their release repeatedly stalled due to disagreements over the ransom amount.