KAMPALA , Uganda ( CNN ) -- A fight between Ugandan and Libyan presidential guards sparked chaos during a ceremony attended by the heads of state from 11 African nations on Wednesday . Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni attend the opening of the mosque . Several of the guards to the visiting heads of state from Kenya , Tanzania , Burundi , Rwanda , Mali , Somalia , Sudan and Djibouti sustained serious injuries in the fight , which included punches , kicks and the drawing of guns . No leaders were hurt in the melee , though several were knocked over . Several journalists also were caught up in the fracas and suffered injuries or lost their grips on cameras and recorders . The incident occurred at the opening of a massive Gadhafi National Mosque in Kampala , a structure begun by the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1972 and completed with financing from Libya , according to African media reports . Minutes after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and his host , Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni , jointly unveiled a plaque to mark the event , the Libyan guards pushed away the guards of other delegations at the mosque 's entrance . The Ugandan guards -- who had traded hostilities with the predominantly-Arab Libyan guards at every joint event since Gadhafi 's arrival in the country Sunday -- reacted with fury and fought back . Museveni briefly lost his balance when a hefty Libyan guard pushed him to a wall . Another Libyan guard pushed Rwandan President Paul Kagame , who also lost his balance but was caught by his own guards . The vice president of Tanzania was knocked over by fighting guards as he was taking his shoes off to enter the mosque . Guards to the rest of the visiting presidents and prime ministers kept their respective leaders out of the fray , with some drawing their guns as the dignitaries looked on in disbelief . Some leaders -- notably those from Somalia , Burundi and Djibouti -- were visibly uneasy as guns were drawn on all sides . By the time the fight was over more than six minutes later , about a dozen presidential guards were left bleeding from compound fractures and the Libyan and Ugandan protocol officials traded bitter accusations of disrespect and racism . `` What are your people up to ? Do you want to kill our leader ? '' a Libyan protocol official said to his Ugandan counterpart . The Ugandan official , who declined to be named , shouted back , `` Why do think you 're superior ? What makes you think Uganda has any ill intention against Gadhafi ? '' The Ugandan official said Museveni 's guards were simply doing their job as security for the host country and had a right to respond when the Libyan guards pushed them back . It has taken 36 years to complete the giant mosque on a hill in the heart of Kampala . It used to be a colonial fort named after British Capt . Frederick Lugard . The mosque can accommodate as many as 17,000 people at one time , according to the engineers , who call it the largest mosque in sub-Saharan Africa . Many Muslims interviewed said the mosque 's opening evoked sweet memories of Amin , the deceased dictator . `` It is a great day and thanks be to Allah for the completion , '' said Salim Abdul Noor , 39 . `` This should remind us that while Amin is demonized as Africa 's worst dictator , there are many things he did for this country that successive governments largely depend on , and much of the completed installations and structures like this beautiful mosque was Amin 's dream , may Allah rest him in peace . '' The Swedish vice president of the European Islamic Conference , Adly Abu Hajar , 57 , said the mosque heals rifts in a religion introduced to Uganda in 1844 by Arab slave traders . `` I find this complex has brought unity among Muslims in Uganda . There have been so many factions , but this attraction has brought them together , identifying themselves with a common home . '' The fight prompted a crisis meeting by Ugandan security authorities , after which invited diplomats from mainly the European missions in Uganda expressed dismay . `` It 's disgrace . It shows there is something wrong yet unknown between the two parties , '' said the head of one European mission in Kampala , who declined to be named . The police chief , Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura , and the head of the army , Gen. Aronda Nyakairima , declined to comment on the fight . But Capt . Edison Kwesiga , the spokesman of the Ugandan Presidential Guard Brigade , confirmed their hostile relationship with the Libyans . `` It is our responsibility to ensure the safety of any visiting head of state . We have to do our job using any means . But our Libyan brothers always want us to fail . True , it 's not the first time they come and act as you see , '' Kwesiga said . E-mail to a friend .
Ugandan officer reports tensions with Libyan leader 's guards during visit . The incident occurred in the city of Zintan on Saturday when a group of about 20 people were detained by Libya's security forces and taken to Tripoli International Airport. About a dozen presidential guards seen bleeding from compound fractures .