Milton Obote had served as Uganda's President until he was overthrown by Idi Amin in the 1971 Ugandan coup d'état. Obote consequently went into exile, and tried to regain power. Many Uganda Army soldiers attempted to flee Uganda to link up with Obote. Hundreds of these deserters, mostly Acholi and Langi, were captured by security forces loyal to Amin and massacred. However, Obote still organized a guerilla force in exile. One group of pro-Obote militants was provided by Tanzania with a training camp at Kingolwira, where 294 fighters had been amassed by August 1971. Another, larger faction was located in Sudan. Assisted by the Sudanese Armed Forces, about 700 to 1000 Ugandan exiles were trained at Owiny Ki-Bul to launch an invasion into Uganda. However, the Sudanese government and Amin's government concluded an agreement in May 1972, whereupon Obote and his forces had to leave the country. These militants were transported from Sudan to Tanzania, but on the way many got sick and died due to unhealthy transport conditions.