Uganda has set 1 August 2027 as the deadline for the withdrawal of all its troops from Somalia, according to the head of the country’s armed forces.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), said in a public post on Friday that Uganda would “withdraw completely from Somalia” by that date.
“There will not be UPDF in Somalia after that,” he added.
The announcement provides the clearest timetable yet for the end of Uganda’s nearly two-decade military presence in Somalia, although General Kainerugaba did not give details of how the withdrawal would be carried out or say whether the date had been formally approved by President Yoweri Museveni, who is Uganda’s commander-in-chief.
Uganda first deployed ground forces to Somalia in March 2007 as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Its troops were sent to support Somalia’s federal government in its fight against al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group.
The Ugandan contingent has since become one of the main pillars of international security operations in Somalia.
Uncertainty over future mission
Uganda is currently the largest troop contributor to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), with about 4,500 soldiers on its approved deployment list.
Separately, Uganda has maintained a bilateral military contingent in Somalia since 2025 under a security agreement signed with Mogadishu in late 2024. Ugandan military sources have put the size of that force at about 2,000 personnel, although other reports have suggested a significantly larger deployment.
General Kainerugaba’s latest announcement comes after months of uncertainty over the future of Uganda’s military presence.
In January, he said Uganda intended to leave Somalia “very soon” after 19 years in the country, but did not give a specific date.
The following month, Uganda’s military high command met under President Museveni at State House in Entebbe and agreed in principle to withdraw within a year, provided financial obstacles affecting the African Union mission were addressed.
But Defence Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka said in August that Ugandan troops could remain in Somalia under a bilateral security agreement even if the multinational African Union mission ended.
The latest statement from General Kainerugaba appears to indicate that a full withdrawal is currently the preferred course.
AUSSOM funding concerns
The announcement also comes at a critical point for AUSSOM.
The mission’s current United Nations Security Council mandate expires on 31 December 2026 and authorises up to 11,826 uniformed personnel, including 680 police officers.
The United States has told the African Union that it will not support extending the arrangement that provides UN-funded logistical support to the mission beyond the end of the current mandate.
That support, delivered through the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), has an annual budget of about $500m and provides essential supplies and services including food, fuel, water, medical support and casualty evacuation.
Uganda hosted an extraordinary summit in Kampala from 29 to 31 July involving AUSSOM troop-contributing countries, including Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia.
The meeting considered the future of the mission amid growing concerns about funding and force generation.
President Museveni told delegates that African countries would continue supporting Somalia’s stabilisation efforts even if external partners reduced their financial contributions.
Challenges for Somalia’s forces
Uganda’s military presence has fluctuated over the years rather than following a continuous reduction.
At its peak under AMISOM, the UPDF contingent approached 6,000 troops. Later withdrawals, including a reduction of about 2,000 personnel in 2023 as part of the transition from AMISOM to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), reduced Uganda’s multilateral deployment to its current level.
Kampala has previously considered full or partial withdrawals, but earlier plans have been delayed or revised as security conditions in Somalia changed.
A complete Ugandan withdrawal would place additional pressure on the Somali National Army to take over positions and territory currently secured by Ugandan forces.
That includes areas around Mogadishu and its approaches, where al-Shabaab has repeatedly carried out attacks.
General Kainerugaba’s proposed withdrawal date also falls seven months after the current UN mandate for AUSSOM expires.
That creates uncertainty over the framework governing any Ugandan troops who might remain in Somalia between the end of the current mandate and August 2027.
It remains unclear whether such forces would operate under AUSSOM, a restructured African Union mission or Uganda’s separate bilateral security agreement with the Somali government.
The wider uncertainty is reflected in difficulties faced by other troop-contributing countries. Egypt’s deployment to AUSSOM has also been delayed by funding and logistical constraints, highlighting the broader challenges facing the mission as it seeks to maintain its planned force.
For Uganda, however, the August 2027 deadline now represents the most explicit indication yet that its long-running military engagement in Somalia could be approaching its final chapter.
