Uganda begins withdrawing troops from Somalia

Uganda has begun withdrawing its troops from Somalia after nearly two decades of military involvement in the country.

The first contingent of 109 Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) troops reportedly left the capital, Mogadishu, on Friday, following an announcement by Uganda’s army chief, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Uganda’s acting army spokesperson, Chris Magezi, did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

Uganda was the first African country to deploy troops to Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), which was established in 2007 to help protect the country’s transitional government from attacks by Islamist militants.

Last week, Gen Muhoozi said Uganda had begun pulling out its troops and would hand over security responsibilities to Somali forces.

“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,” he wrote on X.

The withdrawal is being carried out in phases and is expected to be completed in August 2027.

However, Uganda is not ending its entire military involvement in Somalia. Its troops deployed under a separate bilateral security arrangement will remain in the country.