Aden (WDN) – Yemeni authorities have deported Somaliland’s trade representative in Aden, Idiris Adan Rage, after holding him in detention for more than two months, according to Yemeni sources and Somali media reports.

Rage was reportedly released shortly before being escorted to Aden International Airport, where he boarded an Air Djibouti flight out of Yemen. The Yemeni government has not officially disclosed the reasons behind either his arrest or subsequent deportation.

Security forces arrested Rage on June 13 following a raid on Somaliland’s trade office in Aden’s Khormaksar district. The office had been operating in Aden after being relocated from the Yemeni capital, Sana’a.

According to local reports, the arrest was linked to an event Rage organized on May 18 to commemorate what Somaliland marks as its Independence Day. Yemeni media reported that the gathering was held without official authorization from the Yemeni government and was attended by members of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the UAE-backed faction that controls large parts of southern Yemen.

Somaliland lawmaker Guuleed Mohamed Warsame alleged that Yemeni security forces confiscated equipment and other property from the trade office during Rage’s detention. He also claimed that the representative was deported immediately after his release. Neither the Somaliland authorities nor the Yemeni government has issued an official statement addressing the incident.

For years, Somaliland has maintained a trade office in Yemen to facilitate commercial ties and cooperation across the Gulf of Aden. However, Yemen continues to recognize the Federal Republic of Somalia as the country’s sole sovereign authority and does not recognize Somaliland as an independent state.

The deportation is likely to draw renewed attention to the diplomatic constraints facing Somaliland’s overseas representations, which operate without formal recognition in most countries despite maintaining unofficial trade and liaison offices abroad.

WardheerNews