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Ugandan opposition leader shot, wounded

KAMPALA, Uganda, April 14 (UPI) -- Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was shot and injured after troops fired on protesters in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, authorities said Thursday

Gunshots were heard in Kasangati as word spread about police stopping Besigye from walking to his office in Kampala in a "walk to work" protest, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported.

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In Gayaza, witnesses said teargas canisters were fired at protesters.

"We do this to show solidarity," Besigye told the Netherlands broadcaster Wednesday. "Solidarity with the suffering members of our society, who are already walking to work in their tens of thousands. They are forced to walk long distances every day to go and work because people can no longer afford public transport."

Witnesses said police tried to arrest Besigye but hundreds of his supporters surrounded him, the BBC reported.

The army intervened, and Besigye was shot in the arm during his arrest, witnesses said. He was driven away by the military.

Opposition leaders called the walk-to-work protests in Kampala and other cities to show displeasure over rising fuel and food prices.

President Yoweri Museveni defeated Besigye in February's presidential election, which the opposition leader's supporters said was rigged.

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Several opposition politicians were arrested in other parts of Kampala Thursday for participating in the protest.

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