Somali army officers and soldiers at a base in Lower Shabelle, in a photo shared on X on November 2, 2026 with a post saying the army commander inspected bases vacated by Ugandan troops. Mereja Media could not verify the account’s description of the photo. Photo: @Ramadan70530344 via X
Uganda’s army said on Monday its first soldiers deployed in Somalia under a bilateral deal were back home, and all its troops, including African Union peacekeepers, would leave by the end of 2027.
Col. Chris Magezi, the acting director of defence public information for the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, said in a statement that the withdrawal of troops serving under the bilateral arrangement with Somalia’s federal government took immediate effect, and that the rest of that group would return home within days. The army would gradually withdraw all its remaining forces from Somalia, including those serving under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, by the end of 2027, the statement said. He said the move would end two decades of Ugandan peace support operations and allow the Somali armed forces to take full responsibility for the country’s security.
The statement turns into a timetable what Uganda’s army chief, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced last week, when he wrote on X: “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.” A first group of 109 soldiers left Mogadishu on Friday, according to reports carried by Ugandan and international media. Uganda sent the first African Union troops to Somalia in 2007 and has long had one of the largest contingents in the mission.
Uganda is not leaving the African Union mission all at once, though. On the same day, Hiiraan Online reported that Uganda had prepared a new unit, Battle Group 48, to deploy to Somalia under the African Union mission after training at the peace operations school in Singo. The deputy commander of Uganda’s land forces, Gen. Felix Busizoori, told the soldiers to keep their discipline and good relations with local communities, and warned them that careless use of social media could put security information at risk, according to the report. The report indicates Uganda will keep rotating troops into the African Union mission even as its bilateral forces go home.
In Somalia the news was met with relief and worry in equal measure. Radio Daljir, one of the country’s largest FM networks, put the question of the day to its listeners on Monday: “Who will guard the security of Villa Somalia?”, the presidential compound in Mogadishu. G. MulMuli (@Ramadan70530344), a commentator who posts on security matters, shared a video he said showed Mogadishu residents celebrating the departure of Ugandan troops, and wrote that many saw it as a step toward Somalia relying on its own forces. He later posted photos of the Somali army commander, Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Mohamed Mahmoud, inspecting bases in Lower Shabelle that he said the Ugandans had vacated.
Others were less sure. The account @OGAA_NSHO wrote that the departure of foreign forces, especially the Ugandans, is the greatest risk the federal leadership now faces. A user writing as Gaboose (@Guntigaab) asked who holds the areas Ethiopian forces left two months ago, and how long Somali troops can hold the ground the Ugandans hand over. One account said the Ugandans would leave Barawe on November 4, a date Mereja Media could not confirm.
Mereja Media asked the Institute for Security Studies for analysis after its October 30 report on the start of the withdrawal. Antoinette Louw, a communication specialist at the institute in Pretoria, replied on Monday and referred the questions to Willis Okumu, a senior researcher at its Nairobi office. Mereja Media sent him questions on Monday morning about the security gap and the future of the African Union mission, and no reply had been received by Monday evening. Mereja Media did not find a public statement from Somalia’s federal government on Monday’s announcement.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had asked Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, to delay the pullout, Ugandan media reported last week. Magezi said the phased exit was meant to give the Somali army time to assume full responsibility for security, and Kampala says the last of its soldiers will be home by the end of 2027.
Sources
- Mohamed Salh (@MohamedSelh) on X, Magezi statement in Somali
- Celeb Patrol UG on X, statement text
- Alex (@A_L_E_X_V_E_G_A) on X, report on the first returns
- Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba on X
- Hiiraan Online, Battle Group 48
- Radio Daljir (@radiodaljir) on X
- @Ramadan70530344 on X, Mogadishu video
- @Ramadan70530344 on X, Lower Shabelle bases
- @OGAA_NSHO on X
- Gaboose (@Guntigaab) on X
- @Qani56270199 on X
- Pulse Uganda, Somalia’s president asks Museveni to delay
- Mereja Media, earlier report