Eritrea frees 81 Yemeni fishermen

A total of 81 Yemeni fishermen, detained by Eritrean authorities for nearly a-year-and-a-half, have been released, the Yemeni government said Thursday.

The fishermen arrived in Yemen's Red Sea port city of al-Hodayda Thursday night, reported Xinhua citing the government.

The Yemeni government, however, said that another 519 Yemeni fishermen were still jailed in Eritrean and diplomatic efforts to secure their release were underway.

Eritrean authorities reportedly arrested the Yemeni fishermen in 2012 on grounds of illegal fishing in its waters.

However, Yemeni officials said a 1995 agreement with the African country allows the two neighbours to share fishing waters in the Red Sea.

Relations between Sana'a and Asmara were recently strained over a festering territorial waters row.