As Tanzanian forces advanced deeper into the country, Libya sent its own troops to support the Ugandans, flying them in to the airport at Entebbe.

Tanzanian forces moved their headquarters to Entebbe and prepared for their attack on Kampala, while local civilians looted abandoned properties.

Nyerere ordered his forces to leave an eastern corridor from the capital open, so the remaining Libyan units in the country could escape, thus sparing Libya international embarrassment and avoiding the incitement of Afro-Arab tensions.

In 1971 Idi Amin launched a military coup that overthrew the President of Uganda, Milton Obote, precipitating a deterioration of relations with the neighbouring state of Tanzania.

[4] After initial advances into Ugandan territory, Major General David Msuguri was appointed commander of the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF)'s 20th Division and ordered to push further into the country.

[6] In March President Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, an ally of Amin, attempted to stem the advance by sending an ultimatum to Nyerere, demanding that he withdraw his forces in 24 hours or face the opposition of Libyan troops (which were already present in Uganda).

Nyerere rejected the threat in a radio broadcast, announcing that Libya's entry into the war did not change the Tanzanian Government's view of Amin.

[6] Though Libyan forces had been defeated in a clash at Lukaya, Gaddafi sent large amounts of military equipment and 2,000 members of the People's Militia to Amin's aid.

Several jets raided the Entebbe airport, strafing the tarmac and setting part of the terminal on fire, but failing to cause enough damage to halt the Libyan airlift.

[13] Tanzanian commanders had originally assumed that Amin would station the bulk of his forces in the capital, and their initial plans called for a direct attack on the city.

[14] An understrength battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel Ben Msuya secured Kanjasi, cutting off Entebbe from Kampala.

The TPDF set up 130 mm (5.1 in) M-46 artillery emplacements and subjected the town to a light (several shells a day), three-day bombardment[13] in hopes of frightening members of the garrison and convincing them to retreat.

[22] According to TPDF Major Salim Onwu, the Tanzanians expected this convoy, as a prisoner had revealed that the Libyans were planning a larger breakout.

[19] A dozen Ugandan Army Air Force (UAAF) MiG fighters and one Uganda Airlines Boeing 707 were disabled in the attack and left on the runway.

The next morning the TPDF found a large number of UAAF personnel at a church, wearing civilian clothes, ready to surrender.

According to Dakka, several of the prisoners were summarily executed during the journey (random Ugandan civilians being abducted to replace their numbers) and many were tortured at the camp.

[23] Libyan firepower and air support should have allowed its dug-in troops to hold the airfield almost indefinitely against the lightly armed Tanzanians.

American intelligence analyst Kenneth M. Pollack attributed the Libyans' defeat at Entebbe to their inadequate training and low morale.

Mass desertions and defections were the consequence, leaving the acting commander of the UAAF, Andrew Mukooza, with no means to continue the fight.

Most notably, the army forces at Tororo defected directly to the Ugandan insurgents who were allied with Tanzania, allowing them to occupy the town without resistance.

[24] Tanzanian soldiers broke into the airport's safe, with one "half colonel" reportedly stealing millions of Ugandan shilling (worth about $55,000 at the time).

[36] Local residents looted abandoned stores and homes in the town, while TPDF soldiers ransacked the Entebbe State House.

Nyerere requested that his commanders leave the eastern road from the city leading to Jinja clear so Libyan troops could evacuate.

Nyerere also feared that further conflict with Libyan troops would incite Afro-Arab tensions and invite the armed belligerence of other Arab states.

[38] Combat operations in Uganda continued until 3 June, when Tanzanian forces reached the Sudanese border and eliminated the last resistance.