Ugandan army commander vows to join the Iran-Israel war alongside Israel
General Muhoozi Kainrugaba – the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni – and considered his likely successor, has spent this week posting a barrage of posts on X in support of Israel.
He wrote in another post, “We stand with Israel because we are Christians,” adding in another post, “Uganda is the David that the world has forgotten and neglected. We will defeat the giant Goliath.”
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Kainerugaba began his social media attack by saying: “We want the war in the Middle East to end now. The world is tired of it. But any talk about destroying or defeating Israel will bring us into the war. On Israel’s side!”
Uganda has 45,000 active soldiers in the Uganda People’s Defense Forces, in addition to about 35,000 reserve soldiers, according to its forces. Ministry of Defense. It is estimated to have approximately 240 tanks and more than 1,000 armored combat vehicles.
The nation is also heavily involved militarily in countries affected by conflicts. Its soldiers are fighting as part of the African Union force against Al-Shabaab Islamist terrorists in Somalia. Their army is also still operating in eastern DRC against the ISIS-linked Alliance of Democratic Forces group.
While Iran is not known to have any interests in Uganda, it has been accused of conducting covert operations in neighboring Kenya and Tanzania, including running smuggling networks and conducting controversial diplomatic and economic contacts with questionable motives throughout the region. Despite being a landlocked country, Uganda is said to be concerned about Iran’s strategic interest in having a presence in the territorial waters of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
General Muhoozi Kayenrugaba of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces attends a military honors ceremony at Bombo Military Barracks, in Bombo, Luwero District, Uganda on October 10, 2022. (Abubakar Lubua/Reuters)
He said in another post: “Israel stood with us when we were nobody in the eighties and nineties. Why don’t we defend it now that our GDP has reached $100 billion? One of the largest GDPs in Africa.”
Israel has historically trained Ugandan forces, including Gen. 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 fired from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, October 9, 2023. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)
It wasn’t always like this. In 1976, when dictator Idi Amin was staunchly opposed to Israel, four terrorists hijacked Air France Flight 139 en route from Tel Aviv to France. The plane was diverted to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. During the night of 3 July 1976, the Israel Defense Forces launched a long-range rescue mission, originally code-named Operation Thunderbolt, to rescue 106 mostly Israeli hostages being held.
The mission was retroactively renamed Operation Yonatan after mission commander Lt. Col. Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, the mission’s older brother. Current Israeli Prime MinisterHe was killed by a Ugandan sniper during the raid. Israeli soldiers launched a successful rescue operation, but four hostages, seven kidnappers and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed.
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Kainerugaba announced that, in another gesture of goodwill towards Israel, he intends to erect a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu at the exact spot where he fell at Entebbe Airport. This week, Kainrugaba posted a photo of the statue on the X website, describing it as a “sneak peek.”
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