CAIRO: The Egyptian embassy in Tripoli is following up on the detained fishermen in Libya, and pushing for their release at the behest of the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, according to online news portal Egynews.net. Libyan authorities notified the Egyptian embassy in Tripoli Thursday that 59 Egyptian fishermen on board four boats were arrested by Libyan border guards. Ambassador Mohamed Abdel-Hakam, assistant foreign minister for consular affairs and Egyptians abroad, migration and refugees, told MENA that the four ships - each carrying 14-16 fishermen - were stopped for crossing the territorial waters of Libya and were fishing without a license. He added that two of the ships were taken to the Ras Lanuf port while the other two were taken to the Benghazi port for investigations. Abdel-Hakam warned against entering territorial waters of other countries. He advised fishermen to respect the international laws and principles regarding the private waters and exclusive economic zones. -Daily News Egypt
