(Corrects year Ugandan troops went to South Sudan to 2013 in par 2)

KAMPALA Oct 12 (Reuters) - Uganda said it would start withdrawing troops from South Sudan on Monday, a move that will please other regional and Western powers who feared the soldiers' presence could exacerbate fighting there.

Uganda sent the troops into its neighbour in December 2013 to back the government after clashes erupted with rebels loyal to South Sudan's sacked vice-president. Most of the foreign troops were posted around South Sudan's capital Juba.

The rebels protested about the Ugandan involvement and other powers said it had not been cleared with the African Union and could turn the fighting into a regional conflict.

"Uganda shortly to announce UPDF leaves (South Sudan) starting today," government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said on Twitter.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar signed a peace deal in August, but since then both sides have accused the other of attacks.

More than 2 million people have fled their homes and thousands have been killed in the oil-producing country, which seceded from Sudan in 2011. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Andrew Heavens)