{"version":"1.9","identifier":"60653586-dce3-4675-8457-224ff9c2b975","language":"en-US","title":"Uganda begins pulling troops out of Somalia, sets full exit for end of 2027","layout":{"columns":7,"width":1024,"margin":32,"gutter":20},"componentLayouts":{"text":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"maximumContentWidth":720,"margin":{"top":12,"bottom":12}},"photo":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"margin":{"top":20,"bottom":20}}},"componentTextStyles":{"default":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"textColor":"#171717"},"headline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue-Bold","fontSize":36,"lineHeight":42,"conditional":[{"conditions":{"maxViewportWidth":480},"fontSize":28,"lineHeight":34}]},"intro":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":20,"lineHeight":28,"textColor":"#555555"},"caption":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":19,"textColor":"#666666"},"byline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":20,"textColor":"#666666"},"body":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"paragraphSpacingAfter":14,"linkStyle":{"textColor":"#00704a"}}},"metadata":{"canonicalURL":"https://567politics.com/news/uganda-begins-somalia-troop-withdrawal-aussom-al-shabab-november-2026","datePublished":"2026-11-02T20:12:46.403826Z","dateModified":"2026-11-02T20:14:57.590858Z","authors":["567 Politics staff"],"excerpt":"Uganda's bilateral troops leave first and its AU-mission force by late 2027, as Mogadishu seeks more time and UN support for the AU force winds down.","thumbnailURL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/60653586-dce3-4675-8457-224ff9c2b975/a64d8052b54aaddaa6a47a589d8c3294.jpg","keywords":["world"],"generatorName":"Frog News","generatorVersion":"1.0"},"components":[{"role":"title","text":"Uganda begins pulling troops out of Somalia, sets full exit for end of 2027","textStyle":"headline","layout":"text"},{"role":"intro","text":"Uganda's bilateral troops leave first and its AU-mission force by late 2027, as Mogadishu seeks more time and UN support for the AU force winds down.","textStyle":"intro","layout":"text"},{"role":"byline","text":"By 567 Politics staff · Published November 2, 2026","textStyle":"byline","layout":"text"},{"role":"photo","URL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/60653586-dce3-4675-8457-224ff9c2b975/a64d8052b54aaddaa6a47a589d8c3294.jpg","caption":"Ugandan soldiers in the African Union mission patrol Qoryooley, Lower Shabelle, in April 2014, a month after AU forces retook the town from al-Shabab. · AU UN IST photo / Tobin Jones (AMISOM Public Information), CC0 1.0","accessibilityCaption":"Ugandan soldiers in the African Union mission patrol Qoryooley, Lower Shabelle, in April 2014, a month after AU forces retook the town from al-Shabab.","layout":"photo"},{"role":"caption","text":"Ugandan soldiers in the African Union mission patrol Qoryooley, Lower Shabelle, in April 2014, a month after AU forces retook the town from al-Shabab. · AU UN IST photo / Tobin Jones (AMISOM Public Information), CC0 1.0","textStyle":"caption","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"Uganda's army said on Monday, November 2, that it has started pulling its soldiers out of Somalia. The move begins the end of a deployment that started in March 2007. Uganda has been a mainstay of all three African Union forces sent to fight the al-Shabab insurgency. The first troops to leave are those serving under a separate bilateral deal with Somalia's federal government. Uganda says the rest, including its contingent in the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), will be gone by the end of 2027.\n\nThe stakes are practical and immediate. Ugandan units guard key sites in Mogadishu and hold bases in the Lower Shabelle region, where al-Shabab remains active. The withdrawal also begins while the UN logistics office that keeps the AU force supplied is heading toward closure, after the United States said it would stop backing it. Somalia's president asked Kampala a week ago to stay longer. This article sets out what Uganda announced and what is known about the size and timing of the pullout. It also covers how Somalia, the United States, the AU and outside analysts see it, and what is still unclear.\n\n## What Uganda announced\n\nIn a November 2 statement, the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) said it had \"embarked on the drawdown of troops deployed in Somalia under bilateral arrangements with the Federal Government of Somalia\" with immediate effect. The statement was reported by [New Vision](https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/updf-commences-withdrawal-of-bilaterally-depl-NV_243417_112026), Uganda's state-owned daily. The statement, signed by Col. Chris Magezi, the acting director of defense public information, said the first cohort \"have already arrived back in Uganda\" and that the bilateral withdrawal \"will be completed in the next few days.\"\n\nThe [Daily Monitor](https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/updf-details-timeline-of-somalia-exit-following-new-defence-ministry-mandate-5655234) quoted the same statement. It said the UPDF \"will gradually withdraw all its forces in Somalia, including those currently deployed under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) by the close of 2027.\" It described the move as the end of \"Uganda's enduring 20-year peace and stabilization support operations in Somalia, permitting the Somali Armed Forces to assume full responsibility for security in the country.\"\n\nMonday's statement followed an announcement on Thursday, October 29, by Uganda's Chief of Defense Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also President Yoweri Museveni's son. \"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,\" he wrote on X, as quoted by [The EastAfrican](https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/uganda-signals-somalia-military-exit-5652996). The [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8zxlqxwed4do) reported that a first contingent of 109 UPDF soldiers reportedly left Mogadishu on Friday, October 30.\n\nThe army has not said which bases it will hand over first. [Somalia Today](https://somaliatoday.com/security/uganda-begins-somalia-troop-withdrawal-plans-full-2027-exit-2026-11-02/) noted that Monday's statement \"did not identify which positions would be handed over\" and gave no updated troop figures.\n\nThere is one inconsistency in the timeline. Uganda's [The Standard](https://thestandard.co.ug/2026/10/31/uganda-begins-withdrawing-updf-troops-from-somalia-after-20-years/) reported that Gen. Muhoozi had said in August that no Ugandan soldier would remain in Somalia after August 1, 2027, citing The Kampala Report. Monday's official statement gives the end of 2027 instead. 567 Politics has not found an official explanation for the difference; the November 2 statement is the most recent official date.\n\n## How many troops are involved\n\nNo official, current breakdown of Uganda's forces in Somalia has been published, and reported figures differ.\n\n* The [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8zxlqxwed4do) put the number at an estimated 4,500 troops in the AU mission and about 2,000 under bilateral arrangements.\n* [Reuters](https://www.internazionale.it/ultime-notizie-reuters/2026/11/02/uganda-says-it-has-started-withdrawing-troops-from-somalia), citing Ugandan state media, also gave about 4,500 in AUSSOM but said it was unclear how many more serve under the bilateral deal.\n* [AFP](https://www.arabnews.com/world/uganda-withdrawing-troops-from-somalia-in-blow-to-anti-extremist-mission-3009438) reported a wider range of 6,500 to 8,500 Ugandan troops. It said the bilateral contingent is about a third of the total. It also said Uganda makes up around 40 percent of the AU force.\n* [Somalia Today](https://somaliatoday.com/security/uganda-begins-somalia-troop-withdrawal-plans-full-2027-exit-2026-11-02/) said a military source told AFP in August that Uganda had about 4,500 troops in AUSSOM and 2,000 more deployed bilaterally.\n\nThe chart below uses the BBC's estimates, the figures most consistently repeated across these reports. They are approximations, not official numbers.\n\n```chart\ntype: bar\ntitle: Estimated Ugandan troops in Somalia by arrangement, November 2026\nnote: Approximate figures reported by the BBC; no official breakdown has been published. AFP reports a total of 6,500 to 8,500.\nsource: [BBC News](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8zxlqxwed4do)\n---\nArrangement | Troops\nAU mission (AUSSOM) | 4500\nBilateral deal with Somalia | 2000\n```\n\nThe bilateral force has a distinct history. According to [The EastAfrican](https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/uganda-signals-somalia-military-exit-5652996), this brigade-size contingent was endorsed at a 2025 summit of troop-contributing countries. It was first expected to stay six months. Its job was to support joint operations to retake the Lower Shabelle towns of Sabiid-Anole, Bariire and Awdhegle, then hand them to Somali forces. The paper reported that the planned handover \"has taken longer than anticipated.\"\n\nUganda is not leaving all at once. Three days before Monday's statement, on October 30, the UPDF flagged off a new rotation, Battle Group 48, for service in AUSSOM after pre-deployment training in Nakaseke District, [New Vision](https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/updf-commences-withdrawal-of-bilaterally-depl-NV_243417_112026) reported. The AU contingent, in other words, is still being rotated even as the bilateral force goes home.\n\n## Mogadishu asked for more time\n\nThe pullout comes one week after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Museveni at State House Entebbe on October 26. Uganda's State House said Mohamud \"expressed hope that its forces would remain in Somalia longer to help secure lasting stability,\" according to [Somalia Today](https://somaliatoday.com/security/uganda-begins-somalia-troop-withdrawal-plans-full-2027-exit-2026-11-02/). No extension was announced.\n\n[The Standard](https://thestandard.co.ug/2026/10/31/uganda-begins-withdrawing-updf-troops-from-somalia-after-20-years/), citing Pulse Uganda, reported that Mohamud asked for Ugandan forces to remain in Barawe, Bulo Marer, Qoryoley and Janaale, towns in Lower Shabelle, to give Somali forces more time to prepare. Museveni confirmed the two leaders discussed security but did not publicly address the reported request.\n\nThe Somali government had not issued a formal statement on the withdrawal by the time of the BBC and Standard reports. Its most direct public comment came from Ali Omar, Somalia's state minister for foreign affairs. He told [Reuters](https://www.internazionale.it/ultime-notizie-reuters/2026/11/02/uganda-says-it-has-started-withdrawing-troops-from-somalia): \"Things are not dire now, but it could create problems if their troops suddenly pull out.\"\n\nReuters also reported on an October 31 letter from AUSSOM to the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS). Two diplomatic sources verified the letter. In it, AUSSOM warned that the withdrawal could leave parts of Lower Shabelle open to al-Shabab attacks. 567 Politics has not seen the letter.\n\n## The security backdrop\n\nThe withdrawal begins days after heavy fighting on the main road between Mogadishu and Baidoa. On October 26, government forces fought al-Shabab near Jameeca and Leego, near the boundary of the Bay and Lower Shabelle regions. Somalia's defense ministry said its forces killed \"nearly 75 militants.\" But two soldiers told Reuters that dozens of government troops died and more than 100 were wounded, according to [Somalia Today](https://somaliatoday.com/security/somalia-says-75-al-shabaab-killed-as-heavy-army-losses-reported-2026-10-27/). Al-Shabab claimed, via a statement monitored by the SITE Intelligence Group, to have killed 321 soldiers and allied fighters. Neither the government nor independent sources have confirmed a full toll, and the competing figures should be read as claims.\n\nSomalia is also dealing with internal political conflict. Federal forces are fighting armed groups loyal to Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, known as Laftagareen. He is the ousted president of South West State. His forces captured Burhakaba on October 15, according to ACLED data cited by Somalia Today. [The EastAfrican](https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/uganda-signals-somalia-military-exit-5652996) reported that Mogadishu has accused South West State politicians of collaborating with al-Shabab, which those leaders deny. It added that disputes over elections, constitutional changes and term extensions have strained ties with Jubaland and Puntland.\n\nFormer president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is now an opposition figure. After the October fighting, he said in a statement that \"the life of a Somali soldier cannot be gambled with or used to pursue political ambitions.\" He called for an independent inquiry into army losses, [Somalia Today](https://somaliatoday.com/security/somalia-says-75-al-shabaab-killed-as-heavy-army-losses-reported-2026-10-27/) reported. That is an opposition criticism of the government's military planning, not a finding.\n\n## The money behind the mission\n\nUganda's decision sits inside a larger funding problem. The AU force depends on UNSOS for food, water, fuel, medical care and troop transport. In July, Washington told the AU it would block continued UN support for the mission. In September, the United States sent a diplomatic note, reported by [Reuters](https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2026/us-gives-un-more-time-to-end-support-for-somalia-peacekeepers). It said it was \"willing to support a 12-month drawdown followed immediately by liquidation\" of UNSOS, with the countdown to start in January 2027. The office's budget is about $500 million. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters the United States would no longer fund or support it. The spokesperson said timelines should be discussed at the Security Council in December.\n\nThe current Security Council authorization for AUSSOM runs until December 31, 2026, and allows up to 11,826 uniformed personnel, including 680 police, [Somalia Today](https://somaliatoday.com/security/uganda-begins-somalia-troop-withdrawal-plans-full-2027-exit-2026-11-02/) reported. The International Crisis Group said in a [September commentary](https://www.crisisgroup.org/cmt/africa/somalia/somalia-awaits-new-security-order-mission-drawdown-looms) that AU troop numbers have fallen from about 22,000 in the mid-2010s to around 12,000. The UN's separate political mission in Somalia, UNTMIS, closed at Somalia's request on October 31.\n\nOther UN-backed missions face similar pressure. Last week the Western Sahara peacekeeping mandate ended, as covered in [our report on the rival US and Russian vetoes](https://567politics.com/news/western-sahara-minurso-vetoes-security-council-october-2026). That is a separate case. But it is another long-running UN-linked operation that lost its footing in the Security Council this fall.\n\n## The case for leaving now\n\nSupporters of the drawdown make three main arguments.\n\n**Somali ownership.** Uganda's army frames the exit as a handover that lets Somali forces \"assume full responsibility for security.\" Museveni told troop-contributing leaders at a July summit near Kampala that \"Somalia will not be abandoned.\" He also argued that African states can manage the region's security themselves, the [Daily Monitor](https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/updf-details-timeline-of-somalia-exit-following-new-defence-ministry-mandate-5655234) reported.\n\n**Burden and cost.** Crisis Group describes the U.S. view this way: the multilateral missions \"are not as effective as they once were.\" The Somali government should carry the main load in fighting al-Shabab. Washington would keep up its own counterterrorism operations, including drone strikes. U.S. diplomats, Crisis Group wrote, believe Somali elites are \"preoccupied with pursuing political vendettas rather than combating jihadists.\"\n\n**The limits of a military mission.** Researchers at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Addis Ababa [argued in July](https://issafrica.org/iss-today/rethinking-the-au-s-somalia-peace-mission-after-us-funding-cuts) that the military-heavy mission \"has reached the ceiling of what a military intervention alone can achieve.\" They said it \"should have ended in 2021.\" They also said Somali authorities have \"taken the AU mission's security support for granted,\" which eased pressure to settle their own political disputes. ISS proposes a cautious exit and a shift to a political AU mission.\n\n## The case for staying longer\n\nThose who want a slower exit argue the following.\n\n**Somali forces are not ready.** Mohamud's request to keep Ugandan troops in Lower Shabelle towns reflects Mogadishu's concern, as The EastAfrican put it, about \"losing an important military partner before Somali forces are fully prepared.\" Crisis Group says the Somali army has trained more than 10,000 new troops with help from Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Eritrea. But it says the army is \"still ill-prepared to fully and rapidly take the AU mission's place.\" Some areas handed over in recent years later fell to al-Shabab.\n\n**Risk of rapid losses.** Matt Bryden, co-founder of the research group Sahan, told AFP that the Somali army is \"not in a position to hold any territory or even to protect the capital.\" He warned of a possible \"full collapse of the federal government.\" Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, secretary general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate, wrote on X that the withdrawal \"will indeed bolster al-Shabaab,\" The Standard reported.\n\n**Timing.** At the July Kampala summit, Somalia and AU troop contributors sought 18 to 24 months of steady UN support, according to Crisis Group and Somalia Today. That is more than the 12-month wind-down Washington has offered.\n\n## Where the evidence points, and where it doesn't\n\nThe strongest warnings and the more measured assessments disagree on how fast things could deteriorate. Bryden's scenario of Mogadishu falling is at one end. Omar Mahmood of the International Crisis Group told AFP that \"there's been progress on the Somali side that isn't always recognized,\" while adding that \"the needs are still vast.\" Crisis Group's written analysis says predictions of government collapse are \"wide of the mark.\" It notes that al-Shabab is largely confined to rural areas and that Mogadishu's security has improved. But it also expects \"short-term gains by Al-Shabaab.\" It says towns such as Qoryoley could be at risk once AU troops leave.\n\nThese are forecasts by analysts, not measurements, and none can be tested until the handover happens. Two facts that would sharpen them are not yet public: which Ugandan bases close first, and how many Somali troops will replace them. Somalia's government said in August that it had 14,000 troops available for operations, according to Crisis Group; 567 Politics could not independently verify that figure.\n\nThe debate also does not fall neatly along left-right lines. Arguments for ending open-ended foreign deployments and cutting multilateral spending are associated with the current U.S. administration, while calls for local ownership and political rather than military solutions come from African researchers such as ISS. The case for staying is made mostly by the Somali government and security analysts focused on short-term risk. 567 Politics did not find a published response from Somalia's federal defense ministry or from al-Shabab to Monday's statement.\n\n## What to watch\n\n* **The bilateral exit.** Uganda says it will finish within days. Watch which Lower Shabelle positions change hands and whether Somali units move in.\n* **The December Security Council debate.** AUSSOM's mandate expires December 31. The Council will consider renewal and the UNSOS wind-down timetable.\n* **Other troop contributors.** Crisis Group expects Kenya and Ethiopia to consolidate near their borders and says smaller contributors such as Burundi and Djibouti \"may be less inclined to continue without additional support.\"\n* **Somalia's election dispute.** Crisis Group and ISS both tie the security handover to whether federal and state leaders settle their political disputes, including over elections.\n\nThis story is part of our wider coverage of African politics and security, including [the Human Rights Watch report on Zambia's post-election crackdown](https://567politics.com/news/zambia-hrw-post-election-crackdown-report-hichilema-november-2026) and [South Africa's local elections this week](https://567politics.com/news/south-africa-local-elections-special-votes-november-2026). For how we weigh competing claims and casualty figures, see our [methodology](https://567politics.com/methodology) and [editorial standards](https://567politics.com/editorial-standards).","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"}]}