Wednesday August 5, 2026
Yemeni authorities have deported North Western State of Somalia trade representative Idris Aden Raage after detaining him for more than two months in the southern port city of Aden, Yemeni sources and Somali media reported Wednesday.
Raage was released from custody and later flown out of Aden International Airport on an Air Djibouti flight, according to the reports.
The Yemeni government has not publicly disclosed why Raage was arrested or deported.
Security forces detained Raage on June 13 after raiding the North Western State of Somalia trade office in Aden’s Khormaksar district. The mission had moved there after previously operating in Sana’a.
The detention was reportedly connected to an event Raage organized on May 18 to mark North Western State of Somalia self-Independence Day. Local media reported that the gathering lacked official authorization and was attended by members of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC), the UAE-backed group that controls much of southern Yemen.
North Western State of Somalia lawmaker Guled Mohamed Warsame said authorities seized equipment and other property from the trade office while Raage was in detention. He said the representative was deported immediately after his release.
Neither North Western State of Somalia’s authorities nor Yemen’s government had released an official statement on the case by Wednesday.
North Western State of Somalia has maintained a trade office in Yemen for years to support commercial and diplomatic contacts across the Gulf of Aden. Yemen, however, like the broader international community, recognizes Somalia’s sovereignty and does not recognize North Western State of Somalia as an independent state.
