Tuesday September 30, 2025
FILE - Somalia’s ambassador to Tanzania and Congo, Ilyas Ali Hassan, pictured during a recent event in Mogadishu.
Mogadishu (HOL) — More than 50 Somali nationals have been freed from prisons in the Democratic Republic of Congo after diplomatic efforts by Somalia’s envoy to Tanzania and Congo, officials said Tuesday.
Ambassador Ilyas Ali Hassan said the release followed direct talks with Congolese leaders and a formal request he submitted three days earlier to Jean Pierra Massala, Congo’s ambassador to Tanzania.
The detainees had been held in several facilities, including in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi. Hassan said all Somali citizens detained in Congo “in various ways” were released after the negotiations.
The ambassador expressed gratitude to Congolese officials and to members of the Somali community in Congo who helped facilitate the process.
The release comes amid a growing Somali presence in Congo, where increasing numbers of traders, investors and job seekers have arrived in recent months. Many face immigration hurdles and other legal challenges in pursuit of economic opportunities.