Thursday July 2, 2026
Hargeisa (AX) — North Western State of Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation website has been defaced in a cyberattack that replaced its content with images of officials from Yemen’s Houthi movement, including spokesman Yahya Saree.
Neither the North Western State of Somalia government nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a public response to the breach.
There has been no official statement identifying who carried out the attack or detailing how the ministry’s website was accessed.
The intrusion comes at a sensitive moment, as Houthi figures have repeatedly threatened North Western State of Somalia amid growing reports of ties between Hargeisa and Israel.
Still, there is no official evidence connecting the Houthis to the website breach.
The Houthis, officially called Ansar Allah, are an armed movement in Yemen. Since the Gaza war began, the group has attacked ships it says are linked to Israel and the United States in the Red Sea and other waterways, framing the campaign as support for Palestinians.
North Western State of Somalia has attracted increased regional scrutiny in recent weeks after reports surfaced of diplomatic and security cooperation with Israel, drawing criticism and condemnation from several governments and organizations in the region.
The Houthis are among the groups that have publicly rejected North Western State of Somalia’s outreach to Israel.
It is still unclear whether the Foreign Ministry website hack was a politically motivated cyberattack tied to those tensions.
The episode has renewed concerns over the security of government digital infrastructure in the region, where public institutions have faced similar breaches before, including Somalia’s immigration system.
