Even before the civil war's formal end, many Anyanya had crossed the border to Uganda, where their ally Idi Amin controlled the military. Despite opposition by the Ugandan President Milton Obote, Amin had recruited these fighters into the Uganda Army. After Amin had overthrown Obote and assumed the Ugandan presidency in 1971, he recruited even more ex-Anyanya into the Uganda Army, as he regarded them as loyal to his government. Most of the Sudanese ex-insurgents actually acted as mercenaries. Ali Towelli and Godwin Sule were notable former Anyanya in the Ugandan military. As result of their association with Amin's unpopular regime, "Anyanya" eventually became a derogatory term in Uganda and was used as negative catch-all word for northern Ugandans as well as foreigners.