The Ugandan parliament voted on Tuesday to approve deploying soldiers to the Gaza Strip as part of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) envisioned by President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan.
Ugandan Defense Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka told parliament ahead of the vote that Trump’s emissaries approached Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in July to ask for a contribution of soldiers to the ISF. He said senior military officials immediately began working with the U.S. Embassy in Kampala on details of the prospective deployment.
“Following the invitation by His Excellency Donald Trump … the President of the Republic of Uganda, is ready to deploy in the Gaza Strip the desired Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) contingent,” Kiwanuka said.
The Ugandan constitution gives the president authority to deploy UPDF forces outside Uganda, but only with the approval of parliament. Kiwanuka told lawmakers that deployment to Gaza was urgently needed “to protect civilians and allow for increased humanitarian access in the parts affected directly by the conflict.”
The defense minister said President Museveni believes deployment to Gaza would be in line with Uganda’s past support for peacekeeping missions, and would advance the goal of worldwide peace and stability.
“Uganda’s participation as part of the ISF will aid in preventing further conflicts in the region, thus contributing to broader international security by reducing risks of renewed armed conflict between Israel and Palestine, preventing extremist groups from exploiting instability and sabotaging the ceasefire implementation process,” Kiwanuka said.
The Associated Press (AP) noted there was some resistance from opposition lawmakers, including concerns that participating in the Gaza ISF could jeopardize Uganda’s membership in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Uganda is roughly 80 percent Christian, but it joined the OIC in 1974 during the reign of dictator Idi Amin Dada, who was nervous about being overthrown and wanted to consolidate Muslim support for his regime. Amin was driven into exile about five years later, ending one of the most brutal regimes in African history.
Opposition lawmaker Hassan Kirumira said in a parliamentary speech that the “big question” was: “On which side is our army going to fight?”
The ISF concept remains somewhat nebulous, with only five countries committed to providing troops so far: Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania. Egypt and Jordan have additionally volunteered to assist with training Palestinian police officers for Gaza.
The largest firm commitment to date came from Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who pledged “a significant number of troops – up to 8,000 or more, if necessary.”
On Friday, the “Board of Peace” established by President Trump’s ceasefire plan announced its first construction plan, a base that would accommodate 150 personnel from the ISF. The base will be constructed on territory directly controlled by Israel, about a mile from the Israeli border, which would make it easy to evacuate the ISF personnel in the event of an emergency. The first group to occupy the base will be a contingent of Moroccan troops.
According to the UK Guardian, the contract for base construction was awarded to a Louisiana-based firm called Arkel International. A Board of Peace official said none of the contracts for Gaza have been finalized yet.
The Guardian said earlier contract plans portrayed the 150-person base as “first phase” of an ambitious project to construct a 5,000-person base in Gaza for the ISF. The initial small base will be rudimentary, but the larger base would be heavily fortified.
President Trump last week announced a deal had been struck for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas to disarm, while Israel begins withdrawing its forces from Gaza, which would clear the way for the ISF to take over.
Over the ensuing week, Israel has expressed “serious security concerns” about the deal, including deep skepticism that Hamas will actually disarm. Israeli officials said they have intelligence that suggests Hamas is actually re-arming and recruiting more fighters.
“Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another Oct. 7-style attack,” a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.