South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it is in talks with Ethiopian authorities to release 27 South Sudanese citizens detained in Ethiopia.

Speaking at the weekly press conference of the South Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Apuk Ayul Mayen, the ministry's spokesperson, said, "The detainees are herders from Eastern Equatoria State who accidentally crossed the international border."

The minister added that efforts are underway to safely return 27 youths imprisoned in Ethiopia's Muzan prison to their villages.

"These people were armed with weapons at the time because they were herders. They were arrested because they had crossed the border. We are working with the Ethiopian government through our embassy in Addis Ababa to secure their release," he said.

However, Ethiopian authorities have announced that they will arrest armed individuals moving across the border under national security and border protection laws.

While Ethiopian authorities have not yet commented publicly on the release of the prisoners, diplomatic sources have confirmed that talks are ongoing between the two governments, the Sudan Post reported.

The ministry in Juba did not say when the South Sudanese prisoners crossed the Ethiopian border and were captured.