STOCKHOLM, May 19 (Reuters) - Ethiopia has released three Swedish citizens held under detention since January, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The three Swedes were among scores of people seized in Kenya fleeing the conflict in Somalia at the start of the year, according to media reports.

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said the men returned to Sweden on Saturday after having been released by Ethiopian authorities late on Friday.

Sweden had demanded that the three men, whose names have not been made public, be set free unless Ethiopia clarified the legal grounds for holding them.

The Foreign Ministry declined to reveal the details of the release, but said the men faced no legal charges.

"We have helped them to get home. They are Swedish citizens and as are such free to do as they please," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Sofia Karlberg said.

A 17-year-old Swedish national who was also seized early this year was released by Ethiopian authorities last month.

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