‘Tunisia detains 17 Egyptian fishermen’

Tunisian authorities have detained 17 Egyptian fishermen, officials in Cairo informed on Saturday.

In a statement, Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) quoted Mahmoud Abbas, assistant foreign minister for consular affairs as saying: "Foreign Ministry is closely following up the conditions of 17 Egyptian fishermen detained by Tunisian authorities."

Abbas reiterated that the Egyptian Embassy in Tunis is making the necessary contact with the Tunisian authorities "to ensure that fishermen are safe".

According to the statement: "Tunisian navy units mounted on an Egyptian fishing boat for illegally accessing the territorial waters in the southeast of Kerkennah with 17 people on board."

Tunisian authorities are yet to comment on the incident.