Uganda begins withdrawing troops from Somalia

Military spokesperson Colonel Chris Magezi said on 2 November that the first group of soldiers deployed under a bilateral agreement with Somalia had already returned to Uganda. He said the withdrawal of those troops would be completed within days.

The remaining forces, including Ugandans serving with the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), are to leave gradually by the end of 2027, Magezi said. He told the Associated Press that thousands of Ugandan troops remained in Somalia.

Uganda first deployed troops to Somalia under an African Union mission in 2007. Its forces have helped Somali troops fight al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked militant group that continues to attack military and civilian targets.

The African Union mission warned in a letter that the withdrawal could leave parts of the Lower Shabelle region vulnerable to al-Shabab attacks, Reuters reported. Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, Ali Omar, told Reuters that the situation was not dire, but that a sudden pullout could create problems.

The drawdown follows the closure of the UN’s separate political mission in Somalia on 31 October. UN agencies remain in the country.