Africa War Nº023: Wars and Insurgencies of Uganda 1971-1994

In 1971, Idi Amin Dada, a former officer of the King's African Rifles and commander of the Ugandan Army, seized power in a military coup in Uganda. Characterized by human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, extra judicial killings, nepotism, corruption and gross economic mismanagement, Amin's rule drove thousands into exile. Amin shifted the country's orientation in international relations from alliances with the West and Israel, to cooperation with the Soviet Union.