Kampala (Caasimada Online) — Uganda has agreed in principle to contribute personnel to a proposed international stabilisation force in Gaza after a request from US President Donald Trump, state media reported.
President Yoweri Museveni responded positively to the request, Uganda’s state-owned New Vision newspaper reported, citing senior military sources.
However, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has not said how many personnel it could send, what role they would perform or when any deployment might begin.
“If the President gives strategic guidance, he will instruct the UPDF to act accordingly, and we will act,” acting defence spokesman Colonel Chris Magezi was quoted as saying.
The reported commitment comes as Washington seeks troop contributors for an International Stabilisation Force designed to support security, protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian access and assist reconstruction in Gaza.
Uganda would join Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania, which have pledged personnel, according to US officials.
Indonesia had offered the largest contingent but later put plans to send 8,000 troops on indefinite hold amid regional tensions and complaints that it had not received detailed instructions.
The UN Security Council authorised the force through Resolution 2803, adopted in November 2025 with 13 votes in favour. China and Russia abstained.
The resolution endorsed Trump’s Gaza plan, welcomed the creation of a US-led Board of Peace and authorised a temporary multinational force to work alongside a Palestinian technocratic administration and locally recruited police.
US Major General Jasper Jeffers, appointed to command the mission, said in February that the plan envisaged 20,000 troops and 12,000 Palestinian police.
“With these first steps, we help bring the security that Gaza needs for a future of prosperity and enduring peace,” Jeffers said at the Board of Peace’s inaugural meeting in Washington.
Largely on paper
Months later, however, the force remains largely on paper.
None of the five countries that initially pledged troops had made a substantial deployment by late May, while Indonesia suspended its plan after an escalation involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
“We have not yet received any implementation guidelines,” Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told lawmakers in May.
“Because the Board of Peace has been left behind, the ISF has also been left behind,” he added.
The delays reflect wider disagreements over the second phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, including the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the transfer of authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
Hamas said this month that it had dissolved its de facto government and was ready to hand civilian administration to the technocratic committee.
The Board of Peace, however, said it would judge the group by “actions, not promises”.
Israel has continued carrying out military strikes in Gaza and has said it intends to expand the territory under its control, while more than two million Palestinians face displacement, hunger and widespread destruction.
The Board of Peace is also planning a pilot humanitarian zone for tens of thousands of Gazans. Under the plan, the Palestinian committee would administer the zone with support from local police and the international force.
Somalia experience
Uganda’s possible participation could provide the mission with personnel experienced in counter-insurgency and stabilisation operations.
The East African country became the first to deploy troops to the African Union mission in Somalia in March 2007 and remains one of the largest contributors to its successor, the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia.
Over nearly two decades, Ugandan forces have fought Al-Shabaab, protected key installations and supported Somali troops.
The mission has also suffered heavy casualties and faced repeated funding shortages.
Nearly half of the more than 10,000 African Union troops serving in Somalia in early 2025 were Ugandan.
Uganda has also deployed forces in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while earlier operations targeted the Lord’s Resistance Army across Central Africa.
A deployment to Gaza would nevertheless expose Ugandan troops to different political and operational risks, including possible confrontation with armed Palestinian factions and criticism at home over cooperation with Israel and the United States.
The UPDF has not said whether a Ugandan contingent would carry out combat duties, protect aid corridors, train Palestinian police or provide logistical and engineering support.
Any deployment would require final orders from Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986 and remains commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
