Tanzanian-Ugandan War 1978-1979

The Ugandan government, under the dictator Idi Amin, accused the government of Tanzania of provoking unrest and mutiny along the border although the cause was likely the increasingly unstable rule of Amin. Possibly motivated in diverting military and public attention from internal discord and rally to the government, on September 28, 1978, invaded Tanzanian territory with about 3,000 soldiers and formally annexed a section across the Kagera River boundary on November 1st. In response, Tanzania mobilized its citizen army reserves and concentrated 7,000 troops for a counter-offensive. The first attempt faltered as a result of poor planning rather than resistance from the Ugandans. On November 14th, Uganda withdrew from the Tanzanian territory after burning and looting. Tanzanian forces continued to advance into Ugandan territory, penetrating about 50km by the end of November. An uneasy truce then took hold.

Sporadic skirmishing and shelling took place continued during the truce. By the beginning of February 1979, Tanzanian forces resumed the offensive with a force of 4,000 troops, support by 3,000 Ugandan exiles organized as the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). The Ugandan defenders never showed any willingness to fight, abandoning their supplies and equipment as they retreated steadily, looting along the way. In March Libya sent over 2,000 troops to help defend Uganda; several hundred Palestinian Liberatio Organization fighters and over 2,000 Sudanese mercenaries were also recruited. These were just about the only forces that offered any serious resistance to the Tanzanian-UNLA forces. In a counter-attack at Lukaya, the Libyans were repulsed with heavy losses; before the battle Tanzanian soldiers were supposedly told the Arabs had come to restore the slave trade.

In April, after a two-day battle for Entebbe, most of the Libyans were airlifted out of Uganda while the Tanzanian-UNLA army continued its advance to the capital of Kampala. After a series of air strikes and artillery barrages, the city fell on April 11th. Amin with a force of 2,000 loyal troops retreated to Jinja but pursuing Tanzanian-UNLA troops drove out the Ugandans and Amin fled into exile in Libya (and ultimately Saudi Arabia). The last Ugandan resistance to the invasion was recorded on May 27, 1979 near Bondo on the Uganda-Congo border.

Notes

[1] Correlates of War lists an end date of April 11, 1979 (the occupation of Kampala) but some resistance continued past that date.

[2] Total military/civilian battle deaths of 4,023.

References

Brogan, 111-2; Clodfelter, 1025; Kohn, 509; Mzirai, 119-20; Uganda - A Country Study.

Baldwin Mzirai. Kuzama kwa Idi Amin. Publicity International. 1980.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

East Africa

Belligerents

Uganda, Tanzania, UNLA, Libya

Dispute

Territory, Governance

Initiation Date

September 28, 1978

Termination Date

May 27, 1979^[1]

Duration

8 months
(242 days)

Outcome

Imposed Settlement
(Tanzanian victory)

Fatalities

Total: 2,023/2,000^[2]
Uganda: 1,000/500
UNLA: 150
Tanzania: 373/1,500
Libya: 500

Magnitude

3.6