In 1971 Colonel Idi Amin launched a military coup that overthrew the President of Uganda, Milton Obote, precipitating a deterioration of relations with the neighbouring state of Tanzania. Amin installed himself as President and ruled the country under a repressive dictatorship. In October 1978 he launched an invasion of Tanzania. On 1 November he announced the annexation of the Kagera Salient, an 1800 square kilometre (694.9839 square mile) strip of land between the Ugandan border and the Kagera River. Ugandan troops subsequently pillaged the area they occupied, murdering civilians, stealing cattle, and destroying property, triggering the flight of 40,000 inhabitants southward. In November the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) launched a counterattack, retaking the salient, while the Ugandans withdrew to the border. Tanzanian commanders nevertheless felt that as long as Ugandan troops controlled the high ground at Mutukula along the frontier they posed a threat to the salient. Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere toured Kagera in late November. Able to see Ugandan troops encamped on the high ground through binoculars, Nyerere was moved to agree with his officers and ordered them to capture Mutukula.