Uganda security detains Somali minister of state

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan security forces bundled Somalia's state minister for defense into a car and detained him at an undisclosed location in the capital Kampala on Tuesday.

The incident initially triggered fears among relatives and colleagues that Sheikh Yusuf Mohammad Siad, a former warlord also known as "Inda'ade" or "white eyes," had been kidnapped by Islamist insurgents or a foreign intelligence service.

But Uganda's military spokesman told Reuters local security forces had detained him because his visit aroused suspicion.

"It is true. He is in our hands. He came here for unclear reasons and we picked an interest in him. You can't come here as a high profile person without notice," Lieutenant Colonel Felix Kulayigye told Reuters. He declined to give more details.

Somalia's ambassador to Kampala, Siid Ahmed, confirmed Inda'ade was in Ugandan custody and told Reuters the Somali government was seeking more details about what had happened.

"We want to know what happened, but it seems to have something to do with legal papers," Ahmed said by telephone.

The Ugandan military has about 2,500 soldiers serving in Mogadishu as part of the African Union's 5,000-strong peacekeeping mission AMISOM, which is guarding sites including the Somali capital's air and sea ports and presidential palace.

It was not immediately clear what Kampala might have against such a senior member of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's government. Both are allied against Somalia's Islamist rebels.

Human rights groups have long accused the Ugandan security forces of using heavy-handed tactics when dealing with suspects.

(Additional reporting by Elias Biryabarema in Kampala, Abdi Shiekh in Mogadishu and Sahra Abdi and Abdiaziz Hassan in Nairobi; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)