UPDF in Juba: Uganda’s Shadow War Sparks Amnesty Outrage

In a fiery call to action, Amnesty International is urging the United Nations Security Council to clamp down on Uganda’s brazen involvement in South Sudan’s civil unrest—accusing Kampala of openly helping Juba sidestep the U.N. arms embargo.

The rights group dropped a bombshell report revealing Ugandan troops and armored tanks were caught crossing into South Sudan on March 17—without the green light from the U.N. Security Council, as required under the 2018 embargo. Amnesty says verified footage shows the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) landing in Juba and rolling heavy weaponry across the border, fueling suspicions of a deliberate breach.

General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of President Yoweri Museveni and commander of the UPDF, recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to chest-thump about the deployment, boasting that Uganda had sent forces to “assist our brothers in Juba” against Riek Machar’s opposition forces.

Museveni himself reportedly recently thanked his son Gen Muhoozi for using lethal combat attacks in defeating Riek Machar forces sayingUPDF was in South Sudan to ensure “stability”—a move Amnesty says is code for military meddling.

“While the U.N. arms embargo has not been a panacea, the human rights situation would almost certainly be worse without it,” warned Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s regional director. “Uganda’s actions are reckless and dangerous. The U.N. must not only renew the embargo before it expires on May 31—but enforce it.”

The situation on the ground is dire. Doctors Without Borders says one of its hospitals was hit by helicopter gunfire on May 3, killing seven people—sparking outrage and suspicion that South Sudan’s military has been using attack helicopters that were supposedly grounded under the embargo due to spare parts shortages.

Amnesty fears this is more than just a leak in the embargo—it’s a full-blown pipeline of weapons and military muscle from Kampala to Juba, done in defiance of international law.

“If the U.N. doesn’t step in now,” Amnesty warned, “this could spiral into another deadly chapter in South Sudan’s fragile peace.”