The Ugandan police have suspended 13 of its officers for torturing a group of Muslim youths.

According to police spokesperson Fred Enanga, the move came after CCTV footage showed the officers beating and kicking 45 Muslim youths at a rehabilitation center on the outskirts of the capital, Kampala.

The officers later arrested the youths from the center, managed by a local Muslim leader Sheikh Muhammad Yunus Kamoga, on suspicion that they were being trained to become anti-government rebels.

Speaking at a press conference at Uganda Police Headquarters in Kampala, Enanga said the officers involved in the raid on June 2 are facing the Police Professional Standards Unit over their actions, while investigations into the detention of the 45 youths are ongoing.

"The police officers’ actions during the raid on the rehabilitation center in Kawempe ... were deemed inappropriate by the police leadership. The raid involved kicking and slapping youths who were found at the center," he added.

The Uganda Muslim Lawyers Association (UMLAS) has condemned the actions of the police and threatened to petition the Uganda Human Rights Commission over the matter.