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Egyptian Diplomat Freed in Somalia

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Egypt's foreign ministry says the country's ambassador to Somalia has been freed, after authorities in the semi-autonomous northeastern Puntland region detained him for several days.

The diplomat, Said Mursi, was in the Gulf of Aden port city of Boosaaso, where he negotiated the release of several dozen Egyptian fishermen and their boats earlier this week. Puntland authorities had seized those boats off the Somali coast and claimed they were fishing illegally.

The Puntland regional government fined the crews $250,000. Authorities refused to let Mursi leave after the money to pay the fines did not arrive when expected.

Puntland is a semi-autonomous region that remains part of Somalia. But it administers most of its affairs through its own military and government institutions.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

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