Battle of Lukaya 1979
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 10 March 1979 – 11 March 1979 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1979 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Uganda | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Uganda–Tanzania War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Kikosi Maalum, Palestine Liberation Organization, Tanzania, Uganda | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | -0.1508, 31.8744 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Lukaya (Kiswahili: Mapigano ya Lukaya) was a battle of the Uganda–Tanzania War. It was fought on 10 and 11 March 1979 around Lukaya, Uganda, between Tanzanian forces (supported by Ugandan rebels) and Ugandan government forces (supported by Libyan and Palestinian troops). After briefly occupying the town, Tanzanian troops and Ugandan rebels retreated under artillery fire. The Tanzanians subsequently launched a counterattack, retaking Lukaya and killing hundreds of Libyans and Ugandans.
President Idi Amin of Uganda had attempted to invade neighbouring Tanzania to the south in 1978. The attack was repulsed, and Tanzania launched a counterattack into Ugandan territory. In February 1979, the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) seized Masaka. The TPDF's 201st Brigade was then instructed to secure Lukaya and its causeway to the north, which served as the only direct route through a large swamp to Kampala, the Ugandan capital. Meanwhile, Amin ordered his forces to recapture Masaka, and a force was assembled for the purpose consisting of Ugandan troops, allied Libyan soldiers, and a handful of Palestine Liberation Organisation guerrillas, led by Lieutenant Colonel Godwin Sule.
On the morning of 10 March, the TPDF's 201st Brigade under Brigadier Imran Kombe, bolstered by a battalion of Ugandan rebels, occupied Lukaya without incident.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Lukaya (revision 1370448242), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Masaka 1979 · 26 km
- Battle of Sembabule 1979 · 47 km
- Battle of Kabamba · 77 km
- Mengo Crisis · 92 km
- Battle of Kembogo · 104 km
- Battle of Mutukula 1979 · 107 km
Other battles of the Uganda–Tanzania War
- Battle of Masaka 1979
- Battle of Mutukula 1979
All 3 battles of the Uganda–Tanzania War →
Browse more: battles in Uganda · Africa · Post-1945 battles