Idi Amin was a sergeant in the British colonial army. After Uganda's independence, Amin rose in the Ugandan armed forces to the position of Commander-in-Chief. In 1971, Amin seized control of the government. Amin was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans. In 1976, he offered safe haven to Palestinian hijackers, who were subsequently killed when Israel rescued the hostages at Entebbe. In 1979, Tanzanian troops invaded Uganda and forced Amin into exile. Amin led out the rest of his life in Saudi Arabi were he died from natural causes in 2003. Bibliography: Avirgan, Tony and Honey, Martha. War in Uganda: The Legacy of Idi Amin. Westport, Conn. : L. Hill, 1982. Kyemba, Henry; with foreword by Godfrey Lule. A State of Blood: The Inside Story of Idi Amin. New York: Ace Books, 1977. Decalo, Samuel. Psychoses of Power: African Personal Dictatorships. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, c1989.