Uganda starts pulling troops out of Somalia after 20 years

The first wave is out. A contingent of 109 Uganda People's Defence Forces troops left Mogadishu on Friday, kicking off a phased pullout that Kampala says will wrap up by August 2027. Uganda's army chief, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced the move on X, calling it a handover after two decades of blood and sacrifice. Uganda's acting army spokesperson, Chris Magezi, didn't answer the BBC's request for comment — so for now, the general's post is the official word.

It's a milestone for a mission that made history. Uganda was the first African nation to send troops into Somalia, arriving in 2007 under the African Union Mission in Somalia, or Amisom, to shield the transitional government from Islamist militants. UPDF soldiers fought alongside the Somali National Army, pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu and other big towns, and held key government sites. That partnership stretched across successive AU missions, from Amisom to Atmis and now Aussom.

Not everyone is packing up. Uganda will keep roughly 2,000 troops in Somalia under a separate bilateral security arrangement, while about 4,500 of its soldiers serve under the African Union mission. So the footprint shrinks, but it doesn't vanish. The withdrawal itself is being rolled out in stages rather than all at once.

The timing lands in choppy waters for Somalia's security. Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked insurgency, has been fighting for more than two decades. Meanwhile, Aussom is staring down a funding crunch as US and UN support winds down, with a 12-month transition plan due to start in January so Somalia and the AU can hunt for new money.

Muhoozi framed the exit as a promise kept. Whether Somali forces can hold the line without the Ugandans who helped break al-Shabab's grip on the capital is now the question that matters most.