Ugandan military chief vows to back Israel against Iran in viral social media barrage
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.”
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.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Paul Tilsley.
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