Ugandan police arrest tribal king after deadly clashes kill at least 55

Members of the king's royal guard threw improvised grenade at officers sparking conflict, police spokesman says

President Yoweri Museveni phoned the king and ordered him to disband his royal guards, who are accused of attacking police

Ugandan police stormed the palace of a tribal king and arrested him after fierce clashes between security forces and a separatist militia they believe is linked to him killed at least 55 people.

Heavy fighting broke out in the western town of Kasese on Saturday, when royal guards protecting King Charles Wesley Mumbere of the Rwenzururu kingdom attacked patrolling security forces, police said.

At least 14 police officers and 41 militants had been killed, police spokesman Andrew Felix Kaweesi told Agence France-Presse.

"We took time to talk to the king to get those people out but the king was non-compliant. The only option was to storm the palace and get those people out and get him out for his own security and safety," Mr Kaweesi added.

"He has to explain his involvement in these incidents. He will be charged with inciting violence and brought to Kampala."

President Yoweri Museveni phoned the king on Sunday morning and ordered him to disband the guards, who are believed to be part of a militia agitating for the creation of an independent republic straddling Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Kaweesi said members of the royal guard threw an improvised grenade at patrolling officers on Saturday, prompting them to open fire and kill four of the "attackers".

"That incident set off an explosion in all local sub-counties," he said, adding that fighting between militants – not all of them royal guards – armed with guns and spears and security forces had continued until late in the evening.

After the rebels had killed four police officers, security forces launched an operation to disarm the royal guards and other armed supporters of Mumbere in the region, government spokesman Colonel Shaban Bantariza told The Associated Press.

Mr Mumbere has denied any role in the attacks on police posts.

The Rwenzururu kingdom is a traditional monarchy, based near the Rwenzori mountains which straddle Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The monarchy started out as a separatist movement of the same name when the Bakonzo – tired of being subjected to the rule of another tribe under colonial rule – declared their own kingdom in 1962.

President Museveni officially recognised the kingdom in 2009, however unrest has continued to simmer in the complex ethnic and political conflict.

Additional reporting by agencies