The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has officially commenced the withdrawal of its troops deployed in Somalia under bilateral security arrangements, with the first group of soldiers already returning home as Uganda prepares to end nearly two decades of military involvement in the Horn of Africa country.
The Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs confirmed that the withdrawal had taken effect immediately, following an earlier announcement by the Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba that Uganda had started pulling its troops out of Somalia after 20 years of fighting alongside Somali forces.
In a statement issued on Monday, November 2, 2026, Col. Chris Magezi, the Acting Director of Defence Public Information, said the first contingent had already arrived in Uganda as part of a phased operation expected to be completed within days.
“The Uganda People’s Defence Forces has embarked on the drawdown of troops deployed in Somalia under bilateral arrangements with the Federal Government effective immediately. The first cohort of troops under the phased withdrawal operation have already arrived back in Uganda,” Magezi said.
The latest announcement clarifies the initial communication by Gen. Muhoozi on October 29, when he disclosed that the UPDF had started withdrawing from Somalia, describing the decision as the beginning of a security handover to the Somali people.
“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,” Muhoozi said in a post on X.
The Defence Ministry further clarified that the withdrawal will not be limited to the troops serving under the bilateral agreement, but will eventually cover every Ugandan soldier deployed in Somalia, including those serving under the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
“The UPDF will gradually withdraw all its forces in Somalia, including those currently deployed under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) by the close of 2027,” Magezi said.
He added that the withdrawal would bring to an end Uganda’s 20-year peace and stabilisation operations in Somalia, allowing the country’s national army to take full responsibility for security.
Uganda’s military involvement in Somalia dates back to March 2007, when the country became the first African nation to deploy troops under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), following years of political instability and civil war in the Horn of Africa nation.
The deployment followed security assessments and preparations that began in 2005, when President Yoweri Museveni sent senior military officers, including Gen. Kale Kayihura, Brig. Dick Olum and Brig. Peter Elwelu, to assess the security situation and the possibility of deploying Ugandan troops.
The first contingent, comprising approximately 1,700 soldiers, arrived in Mogadishu on March 6, 2007, with the AMISOM operation formally launched the following day.
Ugandan troops were deployed to support Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government, protect key government installations and help restore security in a country that had experienced prolonged conflict following the collapse of its central government in 1991.
The mission later evolved into a major military campaign against Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked militant organisation that has carried out attacks against government institutions, security forces and civilians in Somalia and neighbouring countries.
Uganda’s soldiers played a central role in securing Mogadishu and other strategic locations, supporting Somali security forces and conducting operations aimed at weakening the militant group.
Over the years, Uganda became one of the largest troop-contributing countries to the African Union-led mission, with thousands of soldiers rotating through Somalia under successive deployments.
Uganda’s involvement continued through several changes to the African Union’s military arrangements in Somalia.
AMISOM was replaced by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in April 2022, as the international community sought to gradually transfer security responsibilities to Somali forces.
ATMIS was subsequently replaced by AUSSOM on January 1, 2025, under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2767 adopted in December 2024.
The new mission was designed to support Somali forces in fighting Al-Shabaab, stabilising liberated areas, protecting key installations and strengthening the capacity of national security institutions.
Uganda was allocated 4,500 troops under the AUSSOM arrangements, making it the largest troop contributor among the participating countries. Other contributors include Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Egypt.
The mission’s longer-term objective is to strengthen Somali security institutions and facilitate the eventual transfer of security responsibilities to the country’s own forces.
Apart from its participation in the African Union mission, Uganda also strengthened its direct military relationship with Somalia through bilateral agreements.
On October 19, 2024, the two governments signed a Status of Forces Agreement in Kampala, providing a legal framework for the deployment of UPDF personnel in Somalia under bilateral arrangements.
The agreement was followed by further cooperation initiatives, including an implementation agreement signed by the two countries’ defence ministers in November 2024.
In February 2025, Uganda and Somalia also signed a joint communiqué committing themselves to strengthening defence cooperation, reflecting continued military and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The bilateral arrangement allowed the two governments to pursue security cooperation outside the framework of the African Union mission.
It is this category of deployment that the UPDF says it has now started withdrawing, with the first group already back in Uganda.
Muhoozi’s earlier withdrawal deadline
Gen. Muhoozi had previously indicated that Uganda intended to bring its entire military presence in Somalia to an end.
On August 28, 2026, he announced that all Ugandan troops would leave Somalia by August 1, 2027, giving a specific date for the end of the country’s military involvement.
“We are withdrawing completely from Somalia by the 1st of August 2027. There will not be UPDF in Somalia after that,” Muhoozi said in his announcement on X.
His October 29 announcement that the withdrawal had started was the first public indication that the process was being implemented.
The revelation confirms that soldiers deployed under bilateral arrangements have started returning home and that the remaining forces, including those under AUSSOM, will be withdrawn by the end of 2027.
The development comes at a time when the future of international security support in Somalia remains important, particularly as the country continues efforts to build its own military capacity and defeat Al-Shabaab.
Uganda’s departure will therefore mark the end of one of its longest-running overseas military operations, although the two countries are expected to maintain diplomatic and defence relations.
The withdrawal represents a transition from nearly two decades of direct military involvement in Somalia towards allowing Somali security institutions to take full charge of their country’s security.
