[file photo] Ugandan soldiers listen to an officer in a photo shared on X on October 29, 2026, in reply to the withdrawal announcement. Mereja could not verify when or where it was taken. Photo: @MrJordanposts via X
Uganda has started withdrawing its troops from Somalia, the head of its armed forces said on Thursday, beginning the exit of the largest and longest serving contingent in the African Union mission fighting al Shabaab.
"As we promised, we have started withdrawing UPDF from Somalia. After 20 years of a lot of blood and sacrifice we are handing over security to our Somali brothers," General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces, wrote on X. He did not say how many soldiers were leaving first or which bases would be handed over.
Uganda was the first country to send troops to Somalia under the African Union in 2007, and its forces have guarded some of the most sensitive sites in Mogadishu. Abdalle Ahmed Mumin (@Cabdalleaxmed), a Somali journalist and secretary general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate, wrote that the Ugandan troops protect southern Somalia and strategic sites including Aden Adde International Airport, the Mogadishu seaport and parts of Lower Shabelle. "UPDF withdrawal will indeed bolster al Shabaab militants as the group already began encircling Mogadishu," he wrote.
Uganda's Daily Monitor reported that the withdrawal comes amid financial strain and diplomatic changes around the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). It said the United States told the African Union in July that it would not support renewing the mission's mandate at the UN Security Council in December, and that the UN support office, UNSOS, is due to end its logistical support on December 31, 2026. The UN support office also cut its funding by 25 percent, which has affected frontline operations, the paper said. Turkey's Anadolu Agency, in a report carried by Malay Mail on Friday, said Washington later negotiated a 12 month extension at the Security Council, with UN logistical services to be phased down starting in January 2027. Muhoozi said in August that no Ugandan soldier would remain in Somalia after August 1, 2027, The Kampala Report noted, and Thursday's statement shows the process has now begun.
The announcement comes days before the UN political mission in Somalia, UNTMIS, closes on October 31 after more than three decades, and while Somalia's government and opposition remain divided over how and when to hold elections. Thursday's statement came two days after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud travelled to Kampala on October 27 for talks with President Yoweri Museveni. He asked Uganda to delay withdrawing its troops from strategic towns in Lower Shabelle, including Barawe, Bulo Marer, Qoryoley and Janaale, to give Somali forces more time to prepare, Pulse Uganda reported. Museveni said after the meeting that they had discussed "the security situation in Somalia," but he did not mention the request. The account @SouthwestWatch, which covers Somalia's South West State, wrote on Thursday that Muhoozi's statement suggests the request was not granted. The Ugandan news site Edge.ug reported that a statement from the Office of the President after the meeting said Hassan Sheikh had praised Uganda's military contribution and hoped Ugandan troops would stay in Somalia longer.
Ugandan leaders have said for months that Africa would not abandon Somalia, even as foreign funding shrinks. At a summit of troop contributing countries near Kampala on July 31, Museveni said: "If the international community wants to pull out, let them… Somalia will not be abandoned," according to the Daily Monitor.
Reactions on X were divided. In Uganda, the activist account @MrJordanposts praised the move as showing "discipline, integrity and respect for our fallen heroes." Somali users were more worried. A Somaliland account, @FarahLander, wrote that with UNTMIS closing and Uganda withdrawing, Mogadishu "faces a critical test" of whether it can keep security without sustained international support.
The al Shabaab group still controls large parts of rural central and southern Somalia and regularly carries out attacks in Mogadishu.
Somalia's government had not publicly commented on the start of the withdrawal by Thursday evening. At the July summit, the commander of the Somali National Armed Forces, Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Mahmoud, thanked the troop contributing countries for their sacrifices, and African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf promised to keep mobilizing support for the mission, according to the Daily Monitor.
Muhoozi said Uganda was "handing over security to our Somali brothers," and that the withdrawal had begun "as we promised."