Uganda-Tanzania War
Location of Uganda (red) and Tanzania in East Africa
| date | October 9, 1978 to June 3, 1979 |
|---|---|
| place | Tanzania-Uganda border area |
| Casus Belli | unlawful invasion of Uganda in the Tanzanian Kagera Strip |
| output | Tanzania Victory |
| consequences | Idi Amin Dada goes into exile |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 45,000 Tanzanian Army 3,000 Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) |
25,000 Ugandan Army |
| losses | |
|
Tanzanian Army: 373 dead, including 96 dead |
Ugandan Army: 1,000 Fallen |
The Uganda-Tanzania War was a military conflict between the African states of Uganda and Tanzania that lasted from October 1978 to June 2, 1979. In Tanzania, this war is known as the Kagera War or Vita vya Kagera ( swahili ), in Uganda as the Liberation War .
Causes of war
After the discovery of an attempted coup by the military in August 1978 against his rule, Idi Amin felt compelled to remove the Ugandan armed forces from the centers of power in Kampala . In addition, Uganda's economic problems had to be diverted from the expulsion of Ugandans of Indian descent in 1972. On the Tanzanian side, however, there were also reasons for violent conflict resolution: Milton Obote and Julius Nyerere were friends, Obote had received asylum in Tanzania and, with Tanzanian support, undertook rebel actions against Amin in Uganda. Tanzania's own interest in establishing itself as a leading regional power in East Africa can be taken for granted.
Start of war and justification
The war finally began with the invasion of the Ugandan army into the Kagera region of Tanzania as far as the Kagera Nile . The reason given for this was an allegedly imprecise demarcation between the former British colony Uganda and Tanganyika, which Germany colonized until the First World War .
course
Eve of war
On January 25, 1971, Idi Amin put Ugandan President Milton Obote out of office. Shortly thereafter, the first conflicts arose with neighboring Tanzania, ruled by Julius Nyerere. The reason for this was that the Nyerere government refused to recognize the Amin government in Uganda. Tanzania believed that the Amin coup was made possible by British and Israeli backers and that the West was trying, with Amin's help, to set up a puppet government in Uganda. Milton Obote was granted asylum in Tanzania and support was given in setting up a guerrilla force. As a result, Ugandan troops repeatedly crossed the border from August 1971, trying to force the Nyerere government to recognize the Amin rule. In return, Tanzania supported an invasion by Obote and his guerrilla force ( Uganda People's Army ) in Uganda in order to be able to carry out a successful counter coup.
Through a mediation by Somalia , the outbreak of war was prevented by a peace agreement on October 7, 1972. The Amin troops succeeded in repelling the invasion of the Obote army, but Tanzania refused to recognize the Amin government in Kampala even after the end of the war . A total of about 1500 people were killed during the war. Since both sides could not achieve their goals, the following armistice was extremely fragile.
Occupation and recapture of the Kagera Strip
On October 9, 1978, motorized Ugandan units marched into the Kagera Strip and destroyed some buildings in Bukoba . Tanzanian artillery fired randomly on Ugandan territory in retaliation, Ugandan fighter-bombers bombed targets in the Kagera Strip and Mwanza , but missed their targets. On October 25, 1978 Ugandan troops occupied the entire Kagera Strip, the Tanzanian security company, which was available to the commander of the region, Colonel Singano, withdrew. Tanzanian civilians fled the Kagera into neighboring regions and in some cases ended up in their own mine barriers. On October 30, 1978, Ugandan troops advanced again, captured Tanzanian civilians on the banks of the Kagera and took them hostage to a forced labor camp in Kaliziso.
On November 1, 1978 Uganda announced the annexation of the Kagera Strip. The following month a violent radio war was waged on both sides. Tanzania turned down Gaddafi's mediation proposal , refused to negotiate with Amin, and began general mobilization during this time. Civilian transport capacities were requisitioned and 8,000-10,000 soldiers were relocated to the Kagera region. The Tanzanian troops , reinforced by rebels from the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), crossed the Kagera on November 8, 1978, despite Idi Amin's offer to retreat, and had recaptured the Kagera Strip in early December 1978. In a radio address on the Tanzanian Independence Day on December 9, 1978, Nyerere announced the continuation of the military action until the final victory over Amin.
Taking Kampala
On January 21, 1979, Tanzanian troops crossed the old border and prepared to attack Mutukula . When the Tanzanian tank advance appeared, the Ugandan troops fled without further resistance. The Tanzanians razed Mutukula to the ground. In the first quarter of 1979 Tanzania mobilized further troops and reservists, so that finally 45,000 Tanzanian soldiers, several hundred UNLA rebels and a battalion from Mozambique marched in. In the meantime (March 9, 1979) Muammar al-Gaddafi Idi Amin had sent relief; these brigade troops were moving southeast from Entebbe.
The Tanzanian advance had come to a standstill on the Lukaya swamps in the Kalungu district. The Tanzanian staff decided to have the 201st Brigade advance across the dam through the marshes on Kampala, while the more mobile 208th Brigade should encircle the marsh westward. The 201st Brigade clashed with the Libyans south of Masaka near Lukaya on March 10, 1979. Because of their technical superiority, the 201st Brigade withdrew and regrouped. Together with the 208th Brigade, which had meanwhile been brought in, they took on 11/12. March 1979 the Libyans in the pincers and rubbed out their troops. In the course of these battles the Libyans lost their heavy equipment (fifteen T-55 tanks, some armored personnel carriers, MRLS) and 200 soldiers of their own. 200 Ugandan soldiers were also killed.
Hindered only by occasional skirmishes, Tanzanians and UNLA captured Kampala on April 11, 1979. On instructions from Nyerere, the way to the airport in Entebbe was cleared when Kampala was taken and the airport itself was not attacked, so that the Libyans and Idi Amin could leave the combat area without losing face. When taking Kampala, Amin fled to Libya.
Results
In addition to a strong boost for the Tanzanian national feeling, the war demonstrated the capabilities of the Tanzanian army. Contemporaries even thought it was possible to intervene in the Rhodesian conflict .
In Uganda, the elected President Obote was back in power, but his re-election in 1980 gave the impression of having been manipulated. Yoweri Museveni , who was allied with Obote during the reconquest of Uganda, went underground with his experienced fighters and started a guerrilla war.
Violations of the international law of war
- Uganda invading the Kagera area
- Tanzania during the destruction of Mutukula
Foreign participation
- Libya on the side of Uganda
- Mozambique (one battalion) on the side of Tanzania
Air war
The air strikes by the Ugandan-Libyan troops on ground targets in Tanzania were unsuccessful due to poor training by Ugandans and poor maps by Libyans. The Tanzanian MiG-21 , on the other hand, attacked ground targets in Uganda more effectively, but the main aircraft kills were achieved by the Tanzanian ground forces with Strela-2 missiles. A Libyan C-130 H was shot down with an RPG-7 .
literature
- Daniel G. Acheson-Brown: The Tanzanian Invasion of Uganda: A Just War? International Third World Studies Journal and Review, Volume XII, 2001 ( [1] , English, PDF, 4 MB).
Web links
- First and second Uganda-Tanzania war in the war archive of the University of Hamburg (Department of Social Sciences)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Acheson-Brown 2001: 5
- ↑ Acheson-Brown 2001: 6
- ↑ cf. Lupogo Archived Copy ( Memento from April 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.acig.info/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=247&Itemid=1