Uganda begins withdrawing troops from Somalia

Uganda has initiated the withdrawal of its troops from Somalia after over two decades of military presence in the nation. The initial group of 109 members from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) departed the capital city, Mogadishu, on Friday, following a declaration by Uganda’s army chief, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. The acting army spokesperson, Chris Magezi, did not provide any response to inquiries from the BBC.

Uganda was the initial African country to send troops to Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), which was set up in 2007 to safeguard the country’s transitional government from assaults by Islamist insurgents. Last week, Gen Muhoozi announced that Uganda had begun the process of reducing its troop presence and would transfer security duties to Somali forces.

He stated on X, "As we promised, we have started withdrawing UPDF from Somalia. After 20 years of a lot of blood and sacrifice, we are handing over security to our Somali brothers."

The withdrawal is taking place in stages and is projected to be finished by August 2027. Nevertheless, Uganda is not ceasing its entire military engagement in Somalia. Troops deployed under a distinct bilateral security contract will continue to stay in the country.