Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital after a diagnostic procedure for an abdominal¹ problem, the government says.

南非政府称，前总统纳尔逊·曼德拉因腹痛在一家医院接受检查，目前已经出院。

Mr Mandela last appeared in public at the World Cup in Soweto in 2010
President Jacob Zuma's office said he was sent home after the checks "did not indicate anything seriously wrong".

Officials earlier said the 93-year-old Nobel Prize laureate（得奖者） had undergone a laparoscopy（腹腔镜检查） but was recovering well.

The procedure involves inserting a tiny camera through the abdomen² or pelvis（骨盆） .

The government has not confirmed where Mr Mandela was being treated nor the exact details of his health concerns.

Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu earlier told reporters he had been suffering from "ongoing³ discomfort⁴" but denied reports of a hernia（疝气） operation.

She said the former president was "as fine as can be at his age".

In his statement, Mr Zuma thanked the public for their "good wishes and support".

"The doctors have decided⁵ to send him home as the diagnostic procedure he underwent did not indicate anything seriously wrong with him," it said.

Mr Mandela, who is affectionately known in South Africa by his clan⁶（宗族，部落） name, Madiba, spent 27 years in prison for fighting the white-minority rule of the apartheid（种族隔离） era.

He became South Africa's first black president in 1994, serving one five-year term.

In 2004, he retired⁷ from public life - his age and declining health mean he has appeared in public only rarely since.

In January last year, he was treated in Johannesburg for a serious chest infection and his health remains⁸ a subject of huge public interest.

The BBC's Karen Allen in Johannesburg says Mr Mandela is still considered by many South Africans to be the father of the nation.

Messages have been pouring in from wellwishers hoping for a speedy recovery, says our correspondent.