Foreign support of Uganda in the Uganda–Tanzania War

Accordingly, only a few states as well as non-state allies provided Uganda with substantial military support during the war, most importantly Libya under Muammar Gaddafi and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

However, there were many claims about other states and groups in Africa, the Arab world, Europe, and Asia covertly supplying Amin with materiel, soldiers, and money, although most of these remain unverifiable.

[21] War correspondent Al J Venter claimed that the Libyans had to repeatedly "haul [the Ugandan soldiers] out of their barracks" and summarily execute several to motivate the rest to fight.

Tanzanian political officers told their soldiers that the "Arabs" were coming into Sub-Saharan Africa to re-establish slavery, making TPDF troops unwilling to take prisoners.

[25] Scattered groups of Libyan soldiers still roamed parts of Uganda after the war was officially over; these stragglers were generally murdered by Ugandan civilians upon being discovered, and their corpses displayed in Kampala's "market center" until the TPDF removed them.

Pollack pointed out that the Libyans failed to use aerial reconnaissance, send out patrols to gather intelligence, and guard their flanks, causing them to "blunder[ ] around Uganda blind".

[14] According to the German newspaper Der Spiegel, Gaddafi ordered some of the dead soldiers to be buried in mass graves in Libya's deserts without the families' knowledge.

After the conflict, several graffiti appeared on walls in Tripoli's harbor area, stating "Utrudu Katala" ("Killer out") which referenced either Gaddafi or Idi Amin who was living in the city after escaping Uganda.

The event was cancelled after Gaddafi was told by Ugandan mufti Obeid Kamulegeya that President Yoweri Museveni had allegedly taken part in the massacre committed by FRONASA militants in 1979.

[70][71] When Ugandan Minister of Finance Moses Ali (who had close connections with Pakistan) was fired in 1978, Pakistan–Uganda relations worsened significantly and a large number of Pakistani personnel was expelled from the country.

[73][71] The journal Africa stated that "informed sources" claimed that "Pakistani technicians and air force personnel" were backing the Uganda Army in its operations against the TPDF.

[74] The Pakistani chargé d'affaires continued to act as Amin's self-appointed "eyes and ears" until a group of Ugandan soldiers threatened his family amid the deteriorating security situation, prompting him to flee to Kenya.

[7] According to foreign diplomats based in Kampala, the PLO dispatched 15 pilots to aid Amin during the war, but played no role in the conflict due to a lack of available operational aircraft upon on their arrival.

[2] Despite the widespread reports about the Palestinian presence, the PLO repeatedly denied its involvement in the war, insisting that its forces were on a simple non-combat "training mission" in Uganda.

[80] This combined Ugandan-Libyan-Palestinian operation resulted in the Battle of Lukaya[28][37] during which PLO fighters served in the Ugandan units, with Colonel Hamdan co-commanding tank and infantry forces, while Major Erekat assumed command of part of the artillery.

[86][90] Several U.S. American companies had maintained links with Idi Amin's government until the United States Congress imposed a trade embargo on Uganda in October 1978.

The "Whisky Shuttles" were cargo flights that carried Ugandan exports in coffee and tea as well as imports in luxury goods that were crucial in maintaining the Uganda Army's loyalty to Amin.

As a result, according to journalists Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey, the Kenyan government provided Amin with "support [...] literally until just before Tanzanian troops marched into Kampala".

[3] Conversely, political scientist Chris Ikalikha Musambayi characterised Moi's response to the war vis-à-vis Amin's regime as marked by "ambiguity", which the Tanzanians interpreted as support for Uganda.

[112] On 30 October 1978, the Ugandan Foreign Ministry announced that Soviet air force personnel loaned to Uganda were being placed on leave "to keep them out of the situation that does not concern them" in regards to the war with Tanzania.

[115] On 1 November 1978, Voice of Uganda proclaimed that Amin had met with Moussikyo, clarifying that the Ugandan President wanted to keep Soviet pilots out of the conflict as to avoid a propaganda coup by anti-Soviet "imperialists".

[71] According to Ugandan officer Bernard Rwehururu, the Soviets actually offered Amin's government substantial military support during the earlier stages of the war, but were turned down due to the President's distrust about Soviet-Tanzanian links.

[121] According to the journal Africa Confidential, however, a Bulgarian Air Force aircraft reportedly arrived at Entebbe carrying weaponry for the Uganda Army shortly before the Fall of Kampala.

[122] Soviet media continued to voice tacit support for Amin until late April 1979 when Pravda openly criticized his deposed regime, stating that he had ruined Uganda.

According to journalist Kevin Klose, this move matched "longstanding Soviet practice of backing winners in the Third World no matter what ideological contortions may be required.

[132] As other Eastern Bloc-aligned diplomats had left the Ugandan capital before the Tanzanian assault, it remains unclear why the East German group had initially stayed behind and only attempted to flee after the battle had started.

[134] Tanzanian statesmen and journalists, Mozambican authorities, and some international observers speculated that the entire war was part of an "imperialist plot" by foreign agents who had influenced Amin.

[8] Tanzanian Foreign Minister Benjamin Mpaka alleged that the Lonrho Company or Ndabaningi Sithole's ZANU faction might have been involved, though he admitted that he had no proof for these theories.

The Rhodesian Air Force reportedly flew 48 of these militants back to Rhodesia to operate as auxiliaries around June 1978,[137] while Catholic missionaries claimed that Sithole loyalists were training in Uganda as late as November 1978.

[60] After the Fall of Kampala, "Arab diplomatic sources" claimed that Amin travelled to Iraq in his private jet, reportedly asking for "arms and assistance".