Tanzanian tanks cut off Amin from Kampala, the capital

Press, 27 March 1979, Page 9

Tanzanian tanks cut off Amin from Kampala, the capital

NZPA-Reuter Nairobi President Idi Amin of Uganda was cut off yesterday from his capital, Kampala, by a Tanzanian tank force that closed the road between the capital and the town of Entebbe, a Presidential aide has told NZPAReuter by telephone from Kampala.

The aide said 12 tanks were visible from State House in Entebbe, where President Amin was about to have breakfast when telephone lines to Kampala, 30km to the north-east were cut.

A special announcement over Uganda Radio told the public that the Kampala-En-tebbe road had been cut, and warned them to stav away from the road. The aide said morale was high at the isolated State House. He said President Amin had said he vas going to have breakfast with the enemy — “meaning he was going to defeat them.”

The aide said about 2000 Europeans were in Kampala, and all had refused to leave the country despite urging from their embassies that they should go. No gunfire had been heard in the capital over night, the aide said, adding that a curfew imposed on Sunday had been lifted at dawn and there had been no panic during the night.

The radio said Field-Mar-shal Amin had declared that although he was cut off from the rest of the armed forces and remained with only a few troops and airmen — “He will try his best with the blessing of God to unite Entebbe and Kampala with the rest of the country.” “Even if he is cut off from all his family, including his children, he will use any type of gun to the maximum to see that he makes a breakthrough and reunites Entebbe and Kampala,” the radio said. It said President Amin would show how only 20 men could fight against 20,000 enemy troops who were attacking Uganda, including Tanzanian regular troops, mercenaries, aW Ugandan traitors .using longrange artillery and tanks.

“His Excellency’s morale is very high,” the radio said. It added that President Anin had tanks at his disposal, and called on troops to be loyal. Military observers said that to reach the Entebbe 1

road, the Tanzanians must have broken through defences at the town of Mpfei and then crossed through the town of Sissa. The capture of Mpigi would bring Entebbe Airport and Kampala within range of the Tanzanian forces’ most powerful artillery, So-viet-built 122 mm field guns. President Amin’s problems began last year when a border dispute erupted with Tanzania, Uganda’s neighbour to the south. In recent weeks the fightrig has developed into a full-scale invasion of Uganda. > Diplomatic sources in the Tanzanian capital, Dar-es-Sa-laam, have said that forces loyal to the former Ugandan President. Milton Obote, appeared to form the biggest part of the guerrilla force fighting inside Uganda. President Amin overthrew Dr Obote, who now lives in Tanzania in a coup in January, 1971. But he also faces opposition from a wide variety of exile groups ranging from Marxist to monarchist.