In October 1978 Uganda invaded the Kagera Salient in northern Tanzania, initiating the Uganda–Tanzania War. The Ugandans met light resistance and in November President Idi Amin of Uganda announced the annexation of all Tanzanian land north of the Kagera River. The Tanzanians organised a counter-offensive later in November and successfully ejected the Ugandan forces from their country.
Relations between Tanzania and Uganda had been tense since then-Colonel Amin overthrew Ugandan President Milton Obote in 1971. Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere supported Obote and backed an unsuccessful attempt by him to regain power in 1972. Uganda also disputed its border with Tanzania, claiming that the Kagera Salient—a 1,865 square kilometre (720 sq mi) stretch of land between the official border and the Kagera River 29 kilometres (18 mi) to the south—should be ceded to Uganda. Tensions remained high through 1978, when Amin's regime started rapidly declining due to economic problems and dissent in the armed forces. In early October Ugandan forces began making small incursions into the Kagera region. On 25 October the Uganda Army launched a large attack over the border, but was repulsed by Tanzanian artillery. The Ugandans attacked again on 30 October, quickly overwhelming the small Tanzanian contingent in the region and completely occupying the Kagera Salient. Amin declared that Uganda was annexing the region, and shortly thereafter the Ugandans destroyed the only bridge over the Kagera River, easing their commanders' concerns about a Tanzanian counter-offensive. The Uganda Army pillaged the land, stealing cattle, automobiles, and personal belongings from homes. Approximately 1,500 civilians were shot and killed, and thousands more fled south.
Tanzania was caught unprepared for war but Nyerere—after being assured by his commanders of his country's military capability to react—ordered a mobilisation and instructed the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) to prepare a counter-offensive. Mozambique sent a battalion to Tanzania as a gesture of support. The Organisation of African Unity attempted to foster a diplomatic solution but Nyerere rejected attempts at mediation. Uganda Army officers concentrated on looting and ignored intelligence reports of Tanzanian plans, and thus were caught unprepared when the TPDF initiated Operation Chakaza. Most Ugandan soldiers fled in the face of artillery bombardment, and Amin soon thereafter declared that he was unconditionally withdrawing the Uganda Army from Kagera, a claim which was bitterly contested by Tanzania. Tanzanian troops used pontoons and a Bailey bridge to move heavy equipment across the river and probed the area. By January 1979 the TPDF had re-secured the Kagera Salient. Nyerere did not initially intend on expanding the war beyond expelling the Ugandans from Tanzanian territory. After Amin failed to renounce his claims to Kagera and the OAU failed to condemn the Ugandan invasion, Nyerere ordered the TPDF to attack Uganda, resulting in Amin's overthrow in April. Following the conclusion of the war, the Tanzanian Government undertook efforts to rehabilitate Kagera, but social services and the standard of living for locals remained diminished for many years. The Uganda–Tanzania War is remembered in Tanzania as the Kagera War.
^Seftel 2010, p. 220.
and 25 Related for: Invasion of Kagera information
the Kagera Salient in northern Tanzania, initiating the Uganda–Tanzania War. The Ugandans met light resistance and in November President Idi Amin of Uganda...
Uganda Army soon began to encounter serious difficulties. The Ugandan InvasionofKagera was repelled by November 1978, as the Tanzania People's Defence Force...
Russian invasionof Ukraine. The occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts occurred in two stages. The south of Luhansk Oblast and the southeast of Donetsk...
charge of about 3,000 soldiers to carry out the operation which initially went well. The Tanzanian border guards were overwhelmed and the Kagera salient...
and allowed the invasion to proceed. Reinforced by other UA detachments, Butabika occupied the entire Kagera salient (northern Kagera Region) until stopping...
point. Tiyua was sent with parts of the Gondo Battalion to the Tanzanian border to aid the Ugandan InvasionofKagera, while Bananuka stayed behind in...
After the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) defeated the Ugandan invasionofKagera, it counterattacked into Uganda. FRONASA guerrillas consequently acted...
to major and held command of a camp in Mafinga. During the Uganda–Tanzania War of 1978 and 1979 Walden served as commander of the 207th Brigade in the...
Uganda claimed that the Kagera Salient—a 720 square miles (1,900 km2) stretch of land between the official border and the Kagera River 18 miles (29 km)...
Tanganyika Rifles mutiny of January 1964 he was in Tabora. In October 1978 Uganda, ruled by Idi Amin, invaded and occupied the Kagera Salient in northern Tanzania...
and therefore the ultimate source of the Nile, is more often considered to be one of the tributary rivers of the Kagera River (the exact tributary remains...
awarded the Kagera National Medal of Honor for fighting against the Idi Amin dictatorship in the 1970s. Uganda since 1979, part of the History of Uganda series...
(or Bahaya) are a Bantu ethnic group based in Kagera Region, northwestern Tanzania, on the western side of Lake Victoria. With over one million people,...
continued to cross the Kagera River, ending up in remote areas of Tanzania. In early May, the UNHCR began hearing concrete accounts of atrocities and made...
an invasionof Tanzania. On 1 November he announced the annexation of the Kagera Salient, an 1800 square kilometre (1118.5 square mile) strip of land...
leading to Israel's Operation Entebbe. He then attempted to annex Tanzania's Kagera Region in 1978. The Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere ordered his troops...
Missenyi District, Kagera Region. The population of Kyaka was estimated at 6,000 people in 2015. Kyaka is located in Missenyi District, in Kagera Region, in northwestern...
Uganda, during the Uganda–Tanzania War. After repulsing a Ugandan invasionof the Kagera Salient in 1978, Tanzanian commanders feared that Ugandan forces...
cases of clinical malaria in 2008.: page 12 In 2007–08, malaria prevalence among children aged 6 months to five years was highest in the Kagera Region...
following is a list of border conflicts between two or more countries. The list includes only those fought because of border disputes. See list of territorial...
launched an invasionof Tanzania. On 1 November he announced the annexation of the Kagera Salient, a 1,800 square kilometre (700 square mile) strip of land between...
stone tools recovered from the former environs of Lake Victoria, which were exposed along the Kagera River valley, chiefly around Nsonezi. The cultivators...
bombed Kagera and following Amin's announcement that the inhabitants of Masaka and Mbarara would face retaliation for welcoming the Tanzanian invasion. The...
source, which serves as a fork to the Kagera River. Another major lake is Lake Tanganyika, located in much of Burundi's southwestern corner. There are...
via the river Kagera, probably in the 1980s. The hyacinth has since spread prolifically, due to a lack of natural predators, an abundance of space, agreeable...
Global Information
Uganda Army deserters (alleged)
Libya (Tanzanian claims)
Morris Singano