battle, Cold War

Battle of Lira

Name: Battle of Lira
Start: 1979-05-15
Location: Lira, Uganda

Battle of Lira was a battle fought on 15 May 1979 at Lira, in what is now Uganda. The recorded result: Tanzanian-UNLF victory. Recorded strength: 5,000 against ~300.

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Fought15 May 1979

WhereLira, Uganda2.270N, 32.845E

OutcomeTanzanian-UNLF victory

BelligerentsTanzania; UNLFagainstUganda

Casualties and losses4 Tanzanians killed; 4 Tanzanians woundedand70+ killed; 18 captured

Record

Date	15 May 1979
Place	Lira, Uganda 2.270N, 32.845E
Kind	Battle, Cold War
Territorial change	Lira occupied by Tanzanian-UNLF forces
Strength	5,000	~300
Casualties and losses	4 Tanzanians killed; 4 Tanzanians wounded	70+ killed; 18 captured
Commanders	Imran Kombe David Oyite-Ojok

The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Battle of Dufile 1888, 176 km NW
Battle of Lukaya 1979, 290 km S
Battle of Jinja 1979, 302 km S
Battle of Sembabule 1979, 303 km SW
Battle of Masaka 1979, 315 km SW

Elsewhere in 1979

Battle of Lira is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 15 in present-day Uganda.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q65077472, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Lira, revision 1370447722, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.