KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda is withdrawing troops deployed for years in Somalia under an African Union peacekeeping force that helped repel militants in the Horn of Africa nation, military authorities said on Monday.

Ugandan troops are returning home under the terms of a bilateral agreement with Somali authorities, military spokesman Col. Chris Magezi said in a statement.

“The first cohort of troops under the phased withdrawal operation have already arrived back in Uganda,” the statement said.

All Ugandan troops are expected to depart Somalia by the end of 2027. Magezi told The Associated Press that thousands of Ugandans remain deployed in Somalia.

Ugandan troops were first deployed to Somalia in 2007 under the banner of an African Union mission presently known as the AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM.

It was a very dangerous deployment at a time when the extremist rebels of al-Shabab had to be dislodged from markets and other public areas in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Many Ugandan peacekeepers were killed or wounded over the years, although authorities have not said precisely how many. Other peacekeepers came from countries such as Burundi and Kenya.

The exit from Somalia of Ugandan peacekeepers coincides with the end of the United Nations’ political mission there and as Somali authorities assert a need to take more charge of internal security arrangements.

The United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia closed on Saturday after more than three decades of successive missions that helped rebuild a country shattered by civil war. The mission advised Somali leaders and helped resolve political disputes over the years.

Somali authorities see the closure as a milestone in the country’s ability to manage its own affairs. But opposition figures and analysts warn that it comes at a time when the president’s right to remain in office is contested and al-Shabab persists in its campaign.

United Nations aid agencies will remain in Somalia and a separate U.N. office will continue providing supplies, transport and other support to African Union troops and some Somali security units.