Sudan will resume on Wednesday the trail of 101 Egyptian fishermen for allegedly trespassing in Sudanese territorial waters.

One hundred and eight Egyptian fishermen, who were bound for Eritrea, were arrested in April and detained in Port Sudan city on the Red Sea coast. However, seven of those – six minors and an elderly man, were later released.

Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Aty told Ahram Online that Cairo is "following the situation closely" with its ambassador in Khartoum.

Families of the detained fishermen, mainly from the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahliya, have staged protests to demand the authorities press for the fishermen’s release. Many of the men are the main providers for their families.

Meanwhile, Sudanese media say authorities demand that Egypt releases 24 Sudanese miners who reportedly crossed the border and are believed to be held in prisons in southern Egypt’s El-Wadi El-Gedid and Aswan.

In September 2012, Sudan released a number of Egyptian fishermen in exchange of miners held in Egypt in a similar incident.

The foreign ministry issued several statements in 2015 warning fishermen of illegal trespassing in foreign waters and calling on them to respect other states’ sovereignty.