| Invasion of Kagera | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Uganda–Tanzania War | |||||||||
 Ugandan soldiers stand next to a dead Tanzanian, identified as "foe", during the invasion of Kagera.[1] | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Uganda Army deserters (alleged) |
Uganda Libya (Tanzanian claims) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Morris Singano Tumainiel Kiwelu James Luhanga Mwita Marwa Silas Mayunga John Butler Walden |
Yusuf Gowon Marajani Juma Butabika Abdu Kisuule Abdulatif Tiyua | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
202nd Brigade 206th Brigade 207th Brigade Southern Brigade |
Malire Battalion Gonda Battalion Simba Battalion 2nd Paratrooper Battalion Marine Regiment Kifaru Regiment Artillery & Signals Regiment Uganda Army Air Force | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
8,000–10,000 Tanzanian soldiers (November) 800 Mozambican soldiers (November) | 2,000–3,000 soldiers (late October) | ||||||||
In October 1978 Uganda invaded the Kagera Salient in northern Tanzania, initiating the Uganda–Tanzania War. The Ugandans met light resistance and in November President Idi Amin of Uganda announced the annexation of all Tanzanian land north of the Kagera River. The Tanzanians organised a counter-offensive later in November and successfully ejected the Ugandan forces from their country.
Relations between Tanzania and Uganda had been tense since then-Colonel Amin overthrew Ugandan President Milton Obote in 1971. Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere supported Obote and backed an unsuccessful attempt by him to regain power in 1972. Uganda also disputed its border with Tanzania, claiming that the Kagera Salient—a 1,865 square kilometre (720 sq mi) stretch of land between the official border and the Kagera River 29 kilometres (18 mi) to the south—should be ceded to Uganda. Tensions remained high through 1978, when Amin's regime started rapidly declining due to economic problems and dissent in the armed forces. In early October Ugandan forces began making small incursions into the Kagera region. On 25 October the Uganda Army launched a large attack over the border, but was repulsed by Tanzanian artillery. The Ugandans attacked again on 30 October, quickly overwhelming the small Tanzanian contingent in the region and completely occupying the Kagera Salient. Amin declared that Uganda was annexing the region, and shortly thereafter the Ugandans destroyed the only bridge over the Kagera River, easing their commanders' concerns about a Tanzanian counter-offensive. The Uganda Army pillaged the land, stealing cattle, automobiles, and personal belongings from homes. Approximately 1,500 civilians were shot and killed, and thousands more fled south.
Tanzania was caught unprepared for war but Nyerere—after being assured by his commanders of his country's military capability to react—ordered a mobilisation and instructed the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) to prepare a counter-offensive. Mozambique sent a battalion to Tanzania as a gesture of support. The Organisation of African Unity attempted to foster a diplomatic solution but Nyerere rejected attempts at mediation. Uganda Army officers concentrated on looting and ignored intelligence reports of Tanzanian plans, and thus were caught unprepared when the TPDF initiated Operation Chakaza. Most Ugandan soldiers fled in the face of artillery bombardment, and Amin soon thereafter declared that he was unconditionally withdrawing the Uganda Army from Kagera, a claim which was bitterly contested by Tanzania. Tanzanian troops used pontoons and a Bailey bridge to move heavy equipment across the river and probed the area. By January 1979 the TPDF had re-secured the Kagera Salient. Nyerere did not initially intend on expanding the war beyond expelling the Ugandans from Tanzanian territory. After Amin failed to renounce his claims to Kagera and the OAU failed to condemn the Ugandan invasion, Nyerere ordered the TPDF to attack Uganda, resulting in Amin's overthrow in April. Following the conclusion of the war, the Tanzanian Government undertook efforts to rehabilitate Kagera, but social services and the standard of living for locals remained diminished for many years. The Uganda–Tanzania War is remembered in Tanzania as the Kagera War.
- ^ Seftel 2010, p. 220.