Around 100 Egyptian fishermen detained in Eritrea since the start of the year have returned home on Sunday, the foreign ministry said. The release of the fishermen capped months-long diplomatic efforts by the foreign ministry following appeals from their families, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Amr Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement. In February, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry phoned his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh to push for the release of the fishermen at the earliest opportunity, he said. In January, Eritrean authorities detained the fishermen for the illegal fishing in the country's territorial waters. Egyptian fishermen were arrested in the territorial waters of neighbouring countries like Sudan, Libya and Tunisia in the past years. Cairo has repeatedly intervened in these cases to secure the release of the fishermen and has warned nationals against trespassing in foreign waters.