Uganda-Tanzania War

Uganda–Tanzania war
Uganda (red) and Tanzania (blue)
Date October 30, 1978 – April 11, 1979 (5 months, 1 week and 5 days) Location Uganda Result Tanzanian victory Overthrow of Idi Amin by Tanzania. Eventual outbreak of the Ugandan Bush War.
Belligerents
Uganda  Libya PLO	Tanzania UNLA Mozambique
Commanders and leaders
Idi Amin Muammar Gaddafi Yasser Arafat	Julius Nyerere Abdallah Twalipo Tumainiel Kiwelu Tito Okello Yoweri Museveni David Oyite-Ojok Samora Machel
Strength
70,000 3,000 200	100,000 6,000 300–800
Casualties and losses
~1,000 Ugandans ~600 Libyans	373 Tanzanians 150 UNLA
1,500 Tanzanian and 500 Ugandan civilians killed

Tanzanian victory

The Uganda–Tanzania war (usually referred to in Uganda as the Liberation War) was fought between Uganda and Tanzania in 1978–1979, and led to the overthrow of Idi Amin's regime. Idi Amin's forces included thousands of troops sent by Libya, and some Palestinian support.

Relations between Tanzania and Uganda had been strained for several years before the war started. After Amin seized power in a military coup in 1971, the Tanzanian leader Julius Nyerere offered sanctuary to Uganda's ousted president, Milton Obote. Obote was joined by 20,000 refugees fleeing Amin's attempts to wipe out opposition. A year later, a group of exiles based in Tanzania attempted, unsuccessfully, to invade Uganda and remove Amin. Amin blamed Nyerere for backing and arming his enemies. The relationship between Uganda and Tanzania remained strained for many years.

In early October 1978, dissident troops ambushed Amin at the presidential lodge in Kampala, but he escaped with his family in a helicopter. This was during a period when the number of Amin's close associates had shrunk significantly, and he faced increasing dissent from within Uganda. When General Mustafa Adrisi, Amin's Vice President, was injured in a suspicious car accident, troops loyal to Adrisi (and other soldiers who were disgruntled for other reasons) mutinied. Amin sent troops against the mutineers (which included members of the elite Simba Battalion), some of whom had fled across the Tanzanian border. The rebellion spilled over into Tanzania, where Tanzania-based anti-Amin exiles joined the fighting against Amin's troops.

Uganda declared a state of war against Tanzania, and sent troops to invade and annex part of the Kagera region of Tanzania, which Amin claimed belonged to Uganda.

Nyerere mobilized the Tanzania People's Defence Force and counterattacked. In a few weeks, the Tanzanian army was expanded from less than 40,000 troops to over 100,000 including members of the police, prison services, national service, and the militia. The Tanzanians were joined by several anti-Amin groups consisting of Ugandan exiles, who at a conference in Moshi (Moshi Conference) had united as the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). These included Kikosi Maalum commanded by Tito Okello and David Oyite Ojok, FRONASA commanded by Yoweri Museveni, and Save Uganda Movement commanded by Akena p'Ojok, William Omaria, and Ateker Ejalu.

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