Operation Dada Idi

Operation Dada Idi
Part of the Uganda–Tanzania War
Date March – early April 1979 Location Central Uganda Result Tanzanian victory Territorial changes Mpigi and surroundings of Kampala and Entebbe are occupied by Tanzanian forces
Belligerents
Tanzania Ugandan rebels	Uganda  Libya Palestine Liberation Organisation
Commanders and leaders
David Musuguri	Idi Amin Yusuf Gowon Ali Fadhul Mahmoud Da'as
Units involved
201st Brigade 207th Brigade 208th Brigade	Malire Battalion Libyan Armed Forces Fatah
Strength
	c. 3,000 Ugandan soldiers Several Libyan soldiers and Palestinian guerrillas
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Many Ugandans and Libyans killed Several tanks, APCs, transport vehicles, and artillery pieces captured

Operation Dada Idi was a military offensive conducted by Tanzania against the Ugandan government of Idi Amin and its Libyan and Palestinian allies in March and April 1979 during the Uganda–Tanzania War. The attack took place amid the disintegration of the Uganda Army, and thus encountered only sporadic and disorganised resistance. The operation resulted in the Tanzanian capture of Mpigi and several other locations around Kampala.

Idi Amin had seized power in Uganda in 1971 and established a repressive dictatorship. Seven years later he attempted to invade neighbouring Tanzania to the south. The attack was repulsed, and Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere ordered a counter-attack into Ugandan territory. Attempts by Uganda and its foreign allies to stop the Tanzanian advance failed. After the Battle of Lukaya on 10–11 March 1979, the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) began to approach Uganda's capital Kampala, prompting Amin and his foreign allies to fortify the strategic location of Mpigi which was located between Lukaya and Kampala. As the Uganda Army was in disarray after its repeated defeats, the pro-Amin troops only offered sporadic resistance in several small-scale clashes around Mpigi.

After taking several positions around the town, the TPDF advanced into Mpigi on 28 March 1979, encountering no further opposition as the garrison had fled. Historian Richard J. Reid argued that the confrontation at Mpigi constituted "Amin's last stand".^[1] The Tanzanians consequently set up artillery to shell Kampala as well as the crucial airport at Entebbe. In the following days, the TPDF defeated further Ugandan and Libyan contingents and gradually secured Mpigi's surroundings. This allowed the Tanzanians to capture Entebbe on 7 April, followed by Kampala on 11 April 1979.