Prisoners in a Ugandan jail overpowered their guards and 219 of them escaped with at least 15 guns, but two were killed after security forces launched an operation to recapture them, a military spokeswoman said on Thursday.

The inmates escaped late on Wednesday from a jail in Karamoja, a remote, semi-arid northeastern region, said the spokeswoman, Brigadier Flavia Byekwaso.

Before fleeing, they broke into the prison armory and stole 15 AK-47 rifles, 20 magazines, and other ammunition.