Officials: 55 killed in Uganda fighting between rebels, army
KAMPALA, Uganda — More than four dozen people have been killed in fighting between Ugandan forces and a tribal militia in a remote district near the border with Congo, Ugandan officials said Sunday as security forces battled armed men protecting a tribal king who is accused of leading the rebels.
At least 55 people, including 41 rebels and 14 police officers, have been killed in clashes in Uganda’s Rwenzori region, police spokesman Felix Kaweesi told reporters. Four police officials and four soldiers have been wounded, he said.
The killings are an escalation of a long-running conflict between Ugandan security forces and rebels who are believed to be loyal to a tribal king, Charles Wesley Mumbere, a critic of the country’s long-time president.
Gunfire rang out outside the king’s palace in the western district of Kasese on Sunday as Ugandan troops tried to disarm Mumbere’s guards and arrest him. Ugandan security forces overwhelmed the guards, broke into the palace and transferred Mumbere to a police post for questioning.