UPDF begins Somalia withdrawal, sets deadline for full exit

Uganda has begun withdrawing troops deployed to Somalia under a bilateral agreement, with the first group already back home and a full military exit planned by the end of 2027.

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) said the withdrawal of troops serving under the bilateral arrangement would end within days.

In a statement dated November 2, 2026, Colonel Chris Magezi, the acting director of Defence Public Information, said the phased operation had taken effect immediately.

“The first cohort of troops under the phased withdrawal operation have already arrived back in Uganda,” Magezi said.

The statement did not disclose how many soldiers had returned or how many remain under the bilateral deployment.

The immediate withdrawal covers troops deployed through an agreement with Somalia’s federal government. Uganda will also gradually pull out soldiers serving under the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).

Magezi said all Ugandan forces would leave Somalia by the close of 2027, ending what the UPDF described as 20 years of peace and stabilisation operations.

The planned exit would leave the Somali armed forces with full responsibility for the country’s security, according to the statement.