Rioting after arrest of Ugandan opposition leader
Police and troops firing live and plastic bullets fought running battles today in Kampala, Uganda, with protesters angered by the arrest on treason charges of the president’s main political rival.
Kizza Besigye appeared in court today, a day after his arrest.
Elsewhere in Kampala, his supporters were ransacking businesses, burning tyres and throwing stones and other objects at security forces in the central business district.
Police spokesman Asuman Mugenyi, however, said officers have not killed any civilian.
He said a guard from a private security firm shot and wounded two men on an arm and a leg to prevent them from looting from a commercial building during the riots.
At least three ambulances were deployed to take the injured to hospital for treatment. About a dozen Red Cross workers were also on the scene.
Supporters, some shouting condemnation of President Yoweri Museveni and the proceedings, foreign diplomats and opposition politicians attended Besigye’s court hearing.
