1972 invasion of Uganda

1972 invasion of Uganda
Uganda (red) was invaded by rebels based in and supported by Tanzania (blue)
Date September 1972 Location Southern Uganda Result Ugandan government victory Mogadishu Agreement Mass purges in Uganda
Belligerents
Uganda  Libya Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)	Ugandan rebels People's Army UPC supporters  Tanzania
Commanders and leaders
Idi Amin Ali Fadhul Yusuf Gowon Isaac Maliyamungu	Milton Obote David Oyite-Ojok Tito Okello Captain Anach Captain Oyile  Lieutenant Okot (POW) Yoweri Museveni Julius Nyerere
Units involved
Simba Battalion Uganda Army Air Force	People's Army Uganda People's Liberation Front Museveni's rebel group
Strength
Thousands 399 Small	1,340–1,500
Casualties and losses
Light	Hundreds killed[1]
c. 150 Ugandan civilians killed in combat; hundreds executed afterwards 9–20 Tanzanian civilians killed 1 American civilian killed

The 1972 invasion of Uganda^[2] was an armed attempt by Ugandan insurgents, supported by Tanzania, to overthrow the regime of Idi Amin. Under the orders of former Ugandan President Milton Obote, insurgents launched an invasion of southern Uganda with limited Tanzanian support in September 1972. The rebel force mostly consisted of the "People's Army" whose forces were mainly loyal to Obote, but also included guerillas led by Yoweri Museveni. The operation was hampered by problems from the start, as a planned rebel commando raid had to be aborted, Amin was warned of the impending invasion, and the rebels lacked numbers, training, and equipment. Regardless, the militants occupied a few towns in southern Uganda at the invasion's start. However, no major popular uprising erupted as Obote had hoped.

Without mass civilian support and outnumbered as well as outgunned, the rebels were mostly defeated by Amin's loyalists within hours. Most insurgents were killed or captured, while the rest fled in disarray back to Tanzania. Reinforced by allied Libyan and PLO troops, the Ugandan security forces launched operations to hunt down and destroy rebel stragglers, while initiating political purges against suspected Obote supporters. Meanwhile, Amin ordered his air force to retaliate by bombing Tanzania, prompting the latter to mobilize its army along the border. Before the conflict could escalate into a full war between Uganda and Tanzania, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire under Somali mediation, and subsequently ratified a treaty in Mogadishu to defuse tensions. Despite this, the conflict greatly worsened the already poor relations between Uganda and Tanzania, and ultimately contributed to the Uganda–Tanzania War.