Uganda

Uganda is an East African country bordered to the north by South Sudan; to the east by Kenya; to the south by Lake Victoria, Rwanda and Tanzania; and to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

A former British colony, Uganda endured a bitter, protracted and chaotic civil war that began under its former "president for life," Idi Amin Dada, who seized power in 1971 and was overthrown in 1979. Milton Obote, who had been previously ousted by Amin, was elected president in 1980.

Obote was removed from power in a 1985 military coup. The following year, the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni, captured the capital city of Kampala and installed Museveni as president. At that time, the civil war seemed to be nearing an end.

The primary threats to Uganda's security are internal and stem from the continued presence of rebel groups domestically and in neighboring countries, primarily the Democratic Republic of Congo. The potential for spillover from violence in neighboring South Sudan is also a concern.

Ugandan troops have decades of experience fighting rebels and are well-versed in counterinsurgency tactics. Outside the manufacture of some light armored vehicles, domestic defense industrial capacity is limited.

Relations with the Democratic Republic of Congo

Throughout the mid-1990s, Uganda actively supported rebel forces in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC]). Those Zairian forces were led by Laurent Kabila, who overthrew President Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997, who became president and restored the DRC name.

However, unhappy with Kabila's failure to move against Hutu rebels and others, Uganda and Rwanda retained control over much of the eastern half of the DRC and backed efforts to bring down Kabila's government. Under terms of the 1999 peace agreement brokered in Lusaka, Zambia, U.N. observers were deployed.

However, peace was not at hand, with violence continuing until the 2003 peace accords were signed between Uganda and the DRC.

A confidential United Nations report in 2012 accused Uganda and Rwanda of providing material support to M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The report was leaked to the media and its allegations denied by the Ugandan and Rwandan governments. The rebels –- who briefly occupied the strategic Congolese city of Goma in late 2012 –- were accused of widespread atrocities in the region.

In the wake of the accusations, Uganda in November 2012 threatened to withdraw its troops from the A.U. mission in Somalia (AMISOM), as well as U.N. missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. The threat to pull out was seen by many as posturing. In April 2013, Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon called on Uganda to enlarge its security role in AMISOM. Museveni said Ugandan personnel would help train Somalia's military.

In November 2013, the leader of the M23 rebel group, active in the neighboring DRC, surrendered with 1,700 fighters in Uganda. The group had destabilized the eastern DRC since 2012.

The continued, albeit diminishing, presence of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF, see more below), both of which are Ugandan rebel groups that operate out of the DRC, has continued to strain relations between the two countries.  

In December 2017, the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) launched a joint, cross border operation with the Congolese military. During Operation Tuugo, Congolese and Ugandan airstrikes killed more than 100 ADF fighters in eight camps in the eastern DRC.

In June 2018, Museveni blamed the Congolese government and U.N. mission in Congo for the continued survival of the ADF.

Internal Security

In July 2010, three separate suicide bomb blasts in the Ugandan capital of Kampala killed 74 people as they watched World Cup soccer on television at a pair of night spots. Somalia's Al-Shabaab militant group took responsibility for the attack.

In December 2010, a grenade exploded on a bus headed from Nairobi, Kenya, to Kampala. Three people were killed in the blast and dozens were injured.

President Museveni won the February 2011 elections, marking his fourth term. Unrest followed, led by Museveni's opponent, Kizza Besigye. Protests were driven in part by rising fuel and food prices, Besigye and his supporters also clashed with police. The wave of protests that started in April 2011 killed eight, injured 250 and resulted in the arrest of 580.

Four officials who worked in the office of Gen. David Sejusa, the head of the president's national intelligence agencies, were charged in a Ugandan military court in July 2013 with attempting to overthrow President Museveni. Sejusa had earlier accused the administration of plotting to assassinate senior officials opposed to Museveni's alleged long-term plan to hand power to his son.

In October 2013, the United States warned Kampala that it had evidence that Al-Shabaab was planning an attack in Uganda similar to its armed assault on a shopping mall in Kenya that left scores dead. Uganda recalled all police officers from leave and heightened its threat level.

Uganda said in March 2014 that it would deploy a unit to Somalia to protect U.N. facilities following a car bombing outside of the Somali intelligence agency headquarters. The U.N. Guards Unit, which was deployed in May 2014, had 410 troops and was based at the Mogadishu airport.

In May 2014, the U.S. Embassy in Uganda said that churches in Kampala faced a specific terrorist threat. The bulletin did not mention any specific group, but Al-Shabaab has been blamed for many attacks in the region.

Tribal gunmen launched coordinated attacks in July 2014 on police stations and army barracks in western Uganda. At least 41 gunmen and 17 police were killed. The attacks were blamed on a dispute between rival ethnic groups.

The U.S. Embassy in Uganda said in September 2014 that Ugandan authorities had uncovered an Al-Shabaab terrorist cell that was planning an imminent attack in Kampala. Security was increased at key sites, including Entebbe International Airport. Police arrested 19 people and seized large amounts of explosives.

In October 2014, Ugandan authorities announced they had stopped a potential attack on one of the largest prisons in the country. Police said they had intercepted communications between a North Africa-based Al-Qaida cell and "local terror networks" plotting a bombing at the maximum security prison in Luzira, a suburb of Kampala. The attack was aimed at freeing Kenyan terror suspects, including several suspected of being involved with the 2010 Kampala twin bombings. A top police inspector said the investigation had found links between the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

After living in exile in the United Kingdom since 2013, Gen. Sejusa returned to Uganda in December 2014. He was arrested in February 2016 on charges of insubordination, taking absence without official leave and taking part in partisan political activities. Sejusa's supporters said he was arrested over concerns that he would mobilize protests if upcoming elections were seen as rigged.

A senior Ugandan prosecutor in charge of the prosecution of those accused of being responsible for the July 2010 bombings was shot and killed in March 2015 in Kampala. Police said they were looking into the possibility that the attack was a targeted assassination. A former detainee held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was arrested as a suspect.

In February 2016, President Museveni was re-elected as president. Opposition candidates said there was widespread fraud, voting irregularities and arrests of opposition officials. The E.U. and the U.S. criticized the poll over a lack of transparency and voter intimidation. The runner-up, Kizza Besigye, was arrested on more than one occasion. The army and the police were deployed in Kampala after the election.

At least 26 people were killed in clashes between opposition and ruling party supporters between mid-February end the beginning of March. More than 1,000 people were said to have fled their homes in the western Bundibugyo district.

An Ebola outbreak that began in the DRC in August 2018 spread to Uganda in June 2019. While many people were at risk for infection, most cases were confined to Congolese territory. Only four cases were reported in Uganda by late summer 2019, all of whom were visiting Congolese nationals. The fear of infection, however, was expected to strain exports to the DRC, which then totaled US$189 million annually.

Lord's Resistance Army

For years, the major internal problem facing Uganda was the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group led by Joseph Kony, whose roots date to 1987. The LRA carried out numerous attacks against civilians and military outposts primarily in the northern part of the country. This threat was reduced by aggressive Ugandan military operations, coupled with the group's exodus from southern areas of Sudan to eastern DRC. Claims that the LRA were in DRC go back to about 2005.

The Ugandan army conducted extended operations against the LRA in Uganda, southern Sudan and DRC, inflicting significant damage to its capabilities and capturing or killing many in the command structure. The Sudanese government in Khartoum had previously aided the LRA, sparking conflict with Uganda. After 2002, a protocol signed by the two governments authorized the Ugandan military to enter the Sudan to conduct operations against the LRA.

The Ugandan government also conducted sporadic peace negotiations with the LRA for years with little progress. In the face of increased military pressure, the LRA used southern Sudan or the eastern DRC as a base to hide and regroup. The Congolese government's inability to control the rebels and its occasional refusal to allow Ugandan troops to fight the LRA in Congolese territory continued to strain relations between Kampala and Kinshasa.

Ugandan and LRA negotiators finished hammering out a peace agreement in March 2008, but Kony failed to sign the document. By June 2008, the Ugandan government lost patience with Kony and resumed military operations. By that time, the LRA was largely operating out of neighboring countries, including the DRC, Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan.

The process was hindered by arrest warrants, issued by the International Criminal Court in October 2005, for Kony and other top LRA commanders. Kony stated that the LRA would not agree to peace while these warrants stand. The ICC's chief prosecutor has refused to drop the war-crimes charges.

Uganda launched a joint offensive with Congolese and southern Sudanese troops against the LRA in the DRC's Garamba forest in mid-December 2008. Uganda pulled its 3,000 troops out of the DRC in mid-March 2009. Ugandan officials said 150 rebels had been killed in the operation, including a senior LRA commander; another high-ranking rebel commander was reported to be captured.

In October 2011, the U.S. deployed 100 special operations personnel to Uganda on a mission to help track down Kony. The stated goals for the U.S. forces included improving effectiveness of operations; strengthening information-sharing; enhancing coordination and planning; and protecting civilians. In March 2014, the United States deployed 150 Air Force special operations personnel, Osprey tiltrotors and other aircraft to help search for Kony. The Ospreys were pulled out the following month.

In November 2011, the African Union officially designated the LRA a terrorist organization. The A.U. asked the U.N. Security Council to follow suit and also requested regional cooperation against the LRA.

In April 2013, Uganda suspended its anti-LRA operations in the CAR, under orders from the African Union. The A.U. did not recognize new CAR government leadership after a coup in late March by the Seleka rebel coalition ousted President Francois Bozize. The mission resumed in June 2013.

Uganda renewed an amnesty law in May 2013 designed to encourage LRA members to surrender. The legislation allowed rebels to disarm without having to face prosecution. A previous law expired in May 2012. The new law was scheduled to last two years. Only top LRA leaders were ineligible for amnesty.

An April 2013 report by the U.S.-based Resolve LRA Initiative claimed that the LRA was suffering from low morale and defections. The advocacy group claimed the LRA might have only 250 fighters left. It said that the remaining rebels had become disillusioned with Kony's failure to keep contact with the fragmented group.

LRA attacks fell in number and intensity after 2013, though members have continued to rob and abduct locals in northeastern DRC and other regional countries. No attacks were reported in Uganda. Several top leaders were killed or defected in 2014 and 2015.

The U.S. and Uganda called off the search for Joseph Kony in April 2017. Intelligence reports suggested that the rebel leader was still alive but no longer represented a significant security threat to Uganda. The LRA was believed to have fewer than 100 fighters, down from a high of 3,000.  

For more information on the LRA, see Military Periscope's Terrorism Database.

International Relations

Rwanda

Uganda has had complicated relations with its southern neighbor. Museveni and Rwandan President Paul Kagame were both allies in the 1980s, when they led militant groups aimed at overthrowing their respective governments. During the Rwandan genocide in 1994, Uganda supported Kagame's push to Kigali, which ended the massacres and saw Kagame become the new leader of Rwanda.

Rwanda and Uganda also fought on the same side during the First Congo War, backing the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL), which ousted Congolese leader Mobutu Sese Seko. Divisions emerged in the Second Congo War, as the countries backed different rebel groups.

Rwandan and Ugandan troops fought for control of the northern Congolese city of Kisangani. About 200 civilians were killed. The two sides fought again in May 2000. The number of troops on both sides of the border increased.

Open war between Rwanda and Uganda was narrowly avoided in November 2001 when Kagame and Museveni met for talks in London.

In June 2002, Rwandan troops successfully pushed Ugandan soldiers from the town of Kisangani. About 1,200 Congolese civilians were killed in the fighting.

In October 2017, Uganda launched a crackdown on alleged Rwandan spies in Uganda. Those arrested included police officers accused of conducting clandestine operations on behalf of the Rwandan government.

In December 2018, a group of experts told the U.N. Security Council that Uganda, along with Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), had provided weapons and training to the Platform Five (P5), a Rwandan opposition group.

In February 2019, the Ugandan government claimed that foreign forces were plotting to overthrow President Museveni. The following month, the Rwandan government issued a warning against travel to Uganda. Officials in Kigali said that at least 190 Rwandans had been arbitrarily arrested, many of whom were tortured and deported. Kagame would later accuse Museveni of attempting regime change in Kigali. Border crossings were closed.

In May 2019, Uganda said that Rwandan troops had crossed into Ugandan territory, killing two civilians in the border town of Rukiga. Rwanda said its forces had been pursuing a group of smugglers.

Following months of escalating rhetoric, Kagame and Museveni met in Luanda, Angola, in August 2019. The leaders agreed to respect each other's sovereignty and to refrain from acts that could destabilize and subvert the territory of the other. Most border crossings remained closed as of October 2019.

Kenya

Jurisdiction over three islands in Lake Victoria is disputed by the Ugandan, Kenyan and Tanzanian governments. In May 2011, Ugandan forces increased their presence on Migingo Island, drawing criticism from Kenya and a demand to withdraw the forces.

In October 2018, Kenya and Uganda agreed to a joint commission to determine ownership of one of the disputed islands. In March 2019, Kenya and Uganda announced an action plan to end the dispute by settling on a demarcation and delineation of boundaries and resource rights. There were no immediate announcements of a deal despite a promise to resolve the issue in three months.

International Deployments

East African Standby Force

Uganda agreed to participate in the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade, a multinational East African military force designed to respond to emergency situations. EASBRIG was re-designated as the East African Standby Force in 2007. EASBRIGCOM was supposed to reach full operational capacity by the end of 2015. Ten countries took part in training in 2009 that involved 1,500 troops, police and civilians. The brigade was eventually expected to include about 6,000 troops able to deploy to crisis zones.

Following a command-post exercise in Ethiopia, the EASF declared full operational capability in December 2014. At that time, Uganda said 869 troops, 10 infantry vehicles, 10 tanks, air defense assets, a military hospital and an engineering component were ready to deploy to the unit.

After the African Union failed to deploy the EASF to Burundi in 2015, as well as other regional conflicts, outside observers questioned the force’s effectiveness. EASF officials ruled out intervening in civil conflicts without the consent of the host nation.

The EASF began operating as the African Union’s standby force in July 2019. It was to remain in this role until at least December 2019.

Somalia

Kampala deployed around 1,600 troops to Somalia in early 2007 under the aegis of the African Union. Force numbers increased gradually afterwards. By 2010, Uganda became the largest contributor to the roughly 8,000 A.U. troops that were in Somalia at that time. While most nations reneged on or postponed their pledges to deploy troops, Uganda maintained its commitment. An additional 2,000 peacekeeping troops were deployed in March 2011.

In July 2010, suicide bombers struck two sites in Kampala where onlookers had gathered to watch the World Cup final match. Seventy-four people were killed and 71 injured. Al-Shabaab later claimed responsibility, calling it retaliation for Ugandan involvement in Somalia.

As of March 2019, the Ugandan contingent to AMISOM consisted of about 6,400 troops based in Sector 1 -- Mogadishu and the Middle and Lower Shabelle regions. Burundi was the second nation to send troops to AMISOM, with its peacekeepers arriving in December 2007. In November 2011, Djibouti and Sierra Leone pledged to join the peacekeeping mission, contributing 850 troops each. Kenya also announced it would send 1,000 soldiers. Djibouti's troops arrived the following month; Sierra Leone's deployment did not begin until April 2013. AMISOM has more than 21,000 personnel as of this update.

In cooperation with the European Union, Uganda took part in training 60 Somali police officers and 1,000 troops in December 2010, encouraging the trainees to assist the transitional government in establishing peace and stability. The E.U. mission's mandate, which began in April 2010, has been extended multiple times. In May 2019, its mandate was extended to December 2020. The training mission moved to Somalia from Uganda in early 2014.

In September 2013, Uganda suspended 20 officers deployed to Somalia for corruption. The officers were accused of selling food and fuel designated for Ugandan peacekeepers on the black market.

Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia complained in August 2014 that they had not been paid for six months. The troops asked the Ugandan legislature to address the issue, while the Ugandan defense chief asserted that payment was not the responsibility of the Ugandan military, but rather was up to the African Union. Legislators said they would investigate the issue.

The Ugandan army suspended 15 military personnel in November 2014 for charging soldiers for the right to deploy with AMISOM. AMISOM positions were said to pay several times more than assignments in the regular armed forces in Uganda. An internal investigation also found that some officers sexually exploited junior personnel who wanted to be deployed with the mission. Several officers were forbidden from participating in foreign missions. Others were suspended, including the commandants of the Uganda's armored warfare training school and the Singo training school.

In May 2015, Al-Shabaab threatened to attack Uganda and Burundi in retaliation for the presence of their troops in Somalia. Ugandan police said they were on high alert after the release of the video.

In July 2015, the Ugandan army announced that it would send helicopters to support troops serving in AMISOM. The deployment was aimed at improving the mobility of Ugandan troops deployed in central and southeastern Somalia. Uganda had previously attempted to send helicopters to Somalia in 2012, but three of the attack helicopters crashed en route, killing seven crewmembers.

In September 2015, an Al-Shabaab attack on the southern Somali town of Janaale killed at least 37 A.U. soldiers, including 12 from the Ugandan contingent. It was the contingent's largest loss since the start of the mission. Shortly after the attack, Al-Shabaab claimed to be holding Ugandan troops hostage. The Ugandan government denied the claim, saying all its troops were accounted for.

In January 2016, Ugandan personnel completed two months of training with U.S. Marines before deploying to Somalia. The training included combat lifesaving, improvised explosive device identification and reaction, heavy equipment and engineering operations, communication and maintenance and operation of mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles. Additional training was also provided on how to use explosives to breach urban obstacles, including walls, locked doors and berms or concertina wire.

In August 2017, the African Union and U.N. adopted U.N. Security Council Resolution 2372. The measure called for a gradual, conditions-based drawdown of AMISOM military forces, beginning in December 2017. This drawdown was intended to start the transition of security responsibilities to Somali military and police. AMISOM was expected to exit Somalia by 2021. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni repeatedly called the planned withdrawal approach unrealistic. Museveni said that a rapid withdrawal would result in a reversal of AMISOM’s gains in Somalia.

In January 2018, Lt. Gen. Jim Beesigye Owoyesigire of the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) assumed command of AMISOM. His rotation lasted one year.

In February 2018, Ugandan soldiers killed three Somali troops in Mogadishu. The Ugandan army said that the Somalis had opened fire on a Ugandan military convoy.

Despite opposition from contributing countries, chiefly Burundi and Uganda, AMISOM began drawing down in February 2019.

In March 2019, President Museveni threatened to pull all 6,400 Ugandan forces out of AMISOM if the U.N. continued to reduce troop numbers +and funding.

In May 2019, four Ugandan soldiers died in a shootout between UPDF forces at Mogadishu Base Camp. The shooting was reportedly spurred by an argument between the soldiers.

South Sudan

In January 2014, the Ugandan Parliament approved the deployment of troops to South Sudan. Military personnel were deployed in December 2013, after fighting broke out in that country. The troops had a mandate to evacuate citizens, protect the nation's trade route with South Sudan and engage in peace enforcement missions. The government did not disclose the number of troops deployed nor how long they might stay in South Sudan.

A week after Parliament approved to the mission, President Museveni announced that Ugandan troops had been killed while fighting against South Sudanese rebels. In February, the South Sudanese government acknowledged that it was paying the costs of the Ugandan deployment.

Uganda protested in August 2014 that South Sudan had not paid Ugandan troops for peacekeeping operations in that country. The government in Uganda claimed it had not been paid for two months. Kampala apparently asked South Sudan to pay about US$5 million every three months in order to continue the peacekeeping mission.

In February 2015, South Sudan and Uganda renewed a military agreement extending the deployment of Ugandan troops there.

The Ugandan army announced in October 2015 that it would start withdrawing troops from South Sudan. An undeclared number of Ugandan troops were stationed at the international airport in Juba, Nesitu south of the capital and in the town of Bor. The withdrawal was a key demand during peace negotiations between the South Sudanese government and rebels. The pullout was to be completed by the first week of November; later reports confirmed this.

Ugandan troops launched an emergency mission to evacuate citizens from South Sudan in July 2016. Officials said the army's efforts would be concentrated around Juba and ruled out any long-term deployments.

In an interview with Reuters in February 2017, Ugandan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Okello Oryem rejected proposals that Uganda assume trusteeship over South Sudan. Such proposals reflected a colonial mentality and would hurt security in both countries, he said.

In August 2017, South Sudanese rebels accused Kampala of allowing South Sudanese government troops to launch attacks on rebels from Uganda.

In April 2018, South Sudanese rebels accused Uganda of secretly sending troops to fight on behalf of the South Sudanese government. A source within the South Sudanese intelligence service also accused Uganda of sabotaging talks between the rebels and Juba.

In September 2018, Sudan and Uganda brokered a peace deal between the two sides in the civil war. Compared to previous agreements, it succeeded in reducing violence, though some holdouts continued to fight the government.

In November 2018, the London-based Conflict Armament Research group reported that Uganda was secretly selling weapons to both sides in the South Sudanese conflict. The weapons were reportedly purchased by the Ugandan military and then sold to South Sudan in violation of arms export controls. Uganda and South Sudan dismissed the report as false.

In January 2019, Ugandan troops entered South Sudan’s Central Equatoria region, allegedly in violation of U.N. resolutions. A spokesman for the Ugandan military said that troops had entered to protect a team of engineers, with the support of the South Sudanese government. South Sudan denied approving the move. All troops left shortly after crossing the border.

For more information on Uganda's international peacekeeping commitments, see "Deployment," below.

Other Foreign Affairs

In February 2015, the Ugandan and Sudanese governments agreed to create a joint mechanism to implement a security agreement covering rebel groups in both countries. Officials agreed to form a bilateral technical security committee to discuss military and security issues. Sudanese officials expressed support for Uganda’s expulsion of some Sudanese rebel leaders and warned Uganda not to deploy any more troops to South Sudan.

Uganda and Ethiopia signed a memorandum on understanding of defense cooperation in July 2015. The goal of the accord was to improve regional peace and stability through more defense cooperation. Ethiopian Defense Minister Siraj Fegessa met with Ugandan Defense Minster Crispus Kiyonga in Kampala to sign the accord. The two reportedly also discussed the situations in South Sudan and Somalia and terrorism.

DEFENSE ESTABLISHMENT

The president is directly responsible for defense policy matters and daily operational matters concerning the armed forces.

In January 2004, President Museveni formally stepped down as a lieutenant general in the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF); he retains considerable control over the military.

ARMED FORCES

The Uganda People's Defense Force is organized into:

5 infantry divisions, composed of
16 brigades
1 armored brigade
1 commando battalion
1 motorized brigade (presidential guard)
1 artillery brigade
2 air defense battalions
1 air wing, with
1 fighter/ground attack squadron
1 attack/transport helicopter squadron
2 transport units (1 VIP)
1 training unit  

The Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF), known as the National Resistance Army (NRA) until 1996, is the unified military service of Uganda. The force was restructured following the 1986 military coup and amnesty was offered to those rebels who wished to join the national army.

An attempt was made to reform the armed forces, which had acquired a reputation for indiscriminate violence under Idi Amin. Nevertheless, international groups including Amnesty International have reported that the Ugandan army still commits atrocities against civilians, often claiming that victims are rebel sympathizers.

The ground and air force elements of the UPDF are loosely consolidated under a central command. Uganda has no navy, but maintains a flotilla-sized lake patrol force tasked with protecting the nation’s fisheries and water borders.

CONSCRIPTION

Service in the Ugandan military is voluntary.

PERSONNEL STRENGTH

The UPDF consists of approximately 45,000 personnel.

Uganda maintains the 800-member police general service unit (PGSU), which has land and air components. Other paramilitary units include a 600-strong border defense unit and 400-man marine unit.

The Amuka group was a militia trained and equipped to fight the Lord’s Resistance Army. It served alongside the army as an auxiliary force. It was believed to be made up mainly of former soldiers. At one point, it was thought to number around 3,000 personnel, with another 7,000 undergoing...