Weeks-long protests over rising food and fuel prices in Uganda have reached the capital Kampala in what The Guardian is calling "the biggest anti-government protest in sub-Saharan Africa so far this year." According to the paper, security forces have arrested hundreds of people today and are shooting civilians with live ammunition, rubber bullets, and teargas, killing two people and wounding more than 120.

The unrest escalated today after police violently arrested opposition leader Kizza Besigye on Thursday by breaking into his car, shooting pepper spray in his eyes,and throwing him into a truck. Reuters is now reporting that Ugandan security officials are preventing Besigye from flying to Kenya to get treatment for his injuries. Besigye helped kick off the unrest in Uganda by organizing a "walk to work" campaign to emphasize the high cost of food and fuel. The arrest was captured on tape:

The pictures emerging from today's violence give a sense of the mounting unrest facing Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country for a quarter century:

In this AP photo, rioters burn tires and wood:

This shot, from the AP, shows police making rioters lie down on the road after arresting them:

Arrested protesters are carried away in a police truck, via AP:

An abandoned Kampala street in the wake of riots, via Reuters:

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Uri Friedman