Africa

Uganda: 149 alleged rebels arrested after assault on palace

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Members of the Uganda People's Defence Force gather in the town of Kasese, Uganda, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016. Rights groups on Monday urged Ugandan security forces to show restraint as they violently crack down on the members of a tribal militia in a remote area near the border with Congo. (AP Photo/Arne Gillis) (The Associated Press)

Men on a motorcycle pass the damaged administration headquarters in the town of Kasese, Uganda, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016. Rights groups on Monday urged Ugandan security forces to show restraint as they violently crack down on the members of a tribal militia in a remote area near the border with Congo. (AP Photo/Arne Gillis) (The Associated Press)

Uganda's government says 149 people have been arrested in a restive region near Congo where clashes with a tribal militia have killed at least 62 people.

Most of those killed are guards who protected a traditional monarch accused of harboring rebels in the western Kasese district.

The king, Charles Wesley Mumbere of the Kingdom of Rwenzururu, is now in detention after his palace was assaulted by the military on Sunday.

Interior Minister Jeje Odongo told reporters Tuesday that weapons, including automatic guns, were seized at the palace.

The killings underscore tensions between longtime President Yoweri Museveni and tribal rulers who are constitutionally recognized but have no real authority or armies of their own.

Mumbere's supporters are accused of killing scores of police officers in sporadic clashes since March 2016.