Editing Idi Amin (section)

== Seizure of power ==
{{further|1971 Ugandan coup d'état}}
[[File:Obote cropped.png|thumb|[[Milton Obote]], Uganda's second president, whom Amin overthrew in a [[coup d'état]] in 1971]]

Eventually a rift developed between Amin and Obote, exacerbated by the support Amin had built within the Uganda Army by recruiting from the [[West Nile sub-region|West Nile region]], his involvement in operations to support the [[First Sudanese Civil War|rebellion in southern Sudan]] and an attempt on Obote's life in 1969. In October 1970, Obote took control of the armed forces, reducing Amin from his months-old post of commander of all the armed forces to that of the commander of the Uganda Army.<ref name="britishcouncil" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2021 |title=Idi Amin's Coup d'État, Uganda 1971 |url=https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/idi-amins-uganda-coup-1971?language_content_entity=en |access-date=27 March 2023 |website=Origins |language=en}}</ref>

Having learned that Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, Amin seized power in a [[1971 Ugandan coup d'état|military coup]] with the assistance of [[Israel]]i government agents<ref>{{Cite news |title=Revealed: how Israel helped Amin to take power |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/revealed-how-israel-helped-amin-to-take-power-100683.html |access-date=17 November 2023 |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 November 2023 |title=Why Israel and Britain were delighted at Amin's rise |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/why-israel-and-britain-were-delighted-at-amins-rise/Y2EVWPDJRA3FH64KE4XWVWAAKU/ |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 August 2013 |title=Clandestine – and creative – diplomacy |url=https://www.jpost.com/magazine/books/clandestine-and-creative-diplomacy-323185 |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}</ref> on 25 January 1971, while Obote was attending that year's [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971|Commonwealth summit]] meeting in Singapore. Troops loyal to Amin sealed off [[Entebbe International Airport]] and took Kampala. Soldiers surrounded Obote's residence and blocked major roads. A broadcast on [[Uganda Broadcasting Corporation|Radio Uganda]] accused Obote's government of corruption and preferential treatment of the [[Lango sub-region|Lango region]]. Cheering crowds were reported in the streets of Kampala after the radio broadcast.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 January 1971 |title=On this day: 25 January 1971: Idi Amin ousts Ugandan president |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/25/newsid_2506000/2506423.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128040534/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/25/newsid_2506000/2506423.stm |archive-date=28 January 2011 |access-date=8 August 2009 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> Amin, who presented himself a soldier, not a politician, declared that the [[military dictatorship|military government]] would remain only as a [[caretaker government|caretaker regime]] until new elections, which would be held when the situation was normalized. He promised to release all [[political prisoner]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fairhall |first=John |date=26 January 1971 |title=Curfew in Uganda after military coup topples Obote |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1971/jan/26/fromthearchive |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212164858/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1971/jan/26/fromthearchive |archive-date=12 February 2014 |access-date=8 August 2009 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London}}</ref>

Amin held a state funeral in April 1971 for Edward Mutesa, former king (''kabaka'') of Buganda and president, who had died in exile.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remembering Sir Edward Mutesa II, a great man of our time |url=https://www.newvision.co.ug/articledetails/undefined |access-date=27 September 2023 |website=New Vision |language=en}}</ref>