"Russian sociologists Maxim Shugaley and Samer Suwaifan have been held at the airport in N'Djamena, the capital of the Republic of Chad, since September 19 without charges or reasons provided. They have been to Chad before and have not had any problems," their colleagues said.
They said that Shugaley last contacted them at around 12:00 GMT on September 19. Before all contact was lost, he said he had not been allowed to cross the border at the airport.
The Russian Embassy in N'Djamena has established "contact with the local side to clarify the situation," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik.