The Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Wednesday accused unidentified parties of spreading malicious rumors about the detention of Eritreans in Sinai by smuggling groups.
The statement denounced the rumors, labeling them "baseless."
The lack of credible evidence put forward, the statement added, proves the rumors were fabrications.
The statement also criticized reports on Egyptian irregular immigration procedures for being skewed.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) earlier this month urged Egypt to help free 250 illegal migrants who, it believes, were being held by traffickers in a mountainous area near the Egyptian-Israeli border.
NGOs who claimed to be in contact with the refugees said they were being kept in containers and harassed by their captors. They added that traffickers were demanding from the migrants’ relatives a ransom of US$8000 for each person.
But Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Egypt had no knowledge of reports about the kidnapping of hundreds of Eritrean migrants in Sinai. He added that the Ministry of Interior, which has ongoing contact with his ministry, also had no idea about the reports.
