Interpol issues missing persons alert for two Irish boys being held by their father in Egypt

Interpol has issued a Yellow Alert (missing persons notice) for two young Irish boys abducted by their Egyptian father, BBC reports.

The boys' mother, Mandy Kelly, has been fighting for their return for two and a half years. The ordeal began in 2022 after a family visit to Egypt to meet the boys' paternal grandparents. At the end of the trip, the father refused to let them return to Ireland and took the children away.

Since then, Kelly has been working with both Irish and Egyptian authorities to regain the right to see her children, aged 6 and 4 years old. In July, an Egyptian court granted her full custody and ordered the father to return the children. However, according to a report in the Irish Examiner, the father has evaded enforcement by frequently changing his location.

This week, Kelly traveled to Cairo for another court hearing.

"I feel compelled to go to keep showing up in court. It's to show the Egyptian authorities the love I have for my boys and the determination I have to fight for their return," she told the Irish Examiner.

The case is complicated by the fact that Egypt is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on child protection, an international treaty designed to facilitate the return of abducted children.

Irish President Michael D. Higgins has also intervened, confirming that he raised the issue with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during his visit to Ireland earlier this month.