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Uganda’s military chief has warned the African country’s armed forces could enter the Iran war on Israel’s side after issuing a series of statements on social media that went viral this week.
Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba — son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni — who is considered to be his likely successor, has spent this week making a barrage of posts on X in support of Israel.
“We stand with Israel because we are Christians,” he wrote, adding in another post, “Uganda is the David that was forgotten and neglected by the world. We will defeat the giant, Goliath.”
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Kainerugaba began his social media blitz with, “We want the war in the Middle East to end now. The world is tired of it. But any talk of destroying or defeating Israel will bring us into the war. On the side of Israel!”
Uganda has 45,000 active military personnel in the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF), with around 35,000 reserves, according to its ministry of defense. It’s estimated to have approximately 240 tanks and over 1,000 armored fighting vehicles.
The nation is also heavily involved militarily in conflict-affected countries. Its soldiers fight as part of an African Union force against Islamist al-Shabab terrorists in Somalia. Their army is also still operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against the Islamic State-linked ADF terrorist group.
While Iran is not known to have any interests in Uganda, it has been accused of covert operations in neighboring Kenya and Tanzania, including the running of smuggling networks and making controversial diplomatic and economic outreach with questionable motives throughout the region. Although landlocked, Uganda is said to be wary of Iran’s strategic interest in gaining a presence in the regional waters of the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
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Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba of the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) attends his military decoration ceremony at the Bombo Military Barracks, in Bombo, Luweero District, Uganda Oct. 10, 2022. (Abubaker Lubowa/Reuters)
In another post he stated, “Israel stood with us when we were nobodies in the 1980s and 1990s. Why wouldn’t we defend her now that our GDP is $100 billion? One of the largest in Africa.”
Israel has historically trained Ugandan forces, including the general. It is understood that Uganda maintains a strong strategic partnership with Israel, with close security and intelligence ties.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, Oct. 9, 2023. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)
It wasn’t always like this. In 1976, with dictator Idi Amin aggressively opposing Israel, four terrorists hijacked Air France Flight 139 on its way from Tel Aviv to France. The plane was diverted to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. During the night of July 3, 1976, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) mounted a long-range rescue mission, originally codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, to rescue 106 mostly Israeli hostages being held.
The mission was retroactively renamed Operation Yonatan after the mission’s leader, Lt. Col. Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, the elder brother of the current Israeli Prime Minister, was killed by a Ugandan sniper during the raid. The Israeli soldiers pulled off a successful rescue, but four hostages, seven hijackers and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed.
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Kainerugaba announced that in a further gesture of goodwill toward Israel, he intends to have a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu erected at the exact spot in Entebbe’s airport where he fell. This week, Kainerugaba posted a photo of the statue on X, dubbing it “a sneak peek.”