Three gunmen attacked Uganda's Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment on Wednesday and took three or four staffs from the ministry as hostage.

Witnesses said the three gunmen attacked the three-story building, just 70 meters from Parliament Building, around 10 a.m.(0700 GMT) and took three or four hostages.

Police and soldiers with assault rifles cordoned off the building in the center of Kampala, the capital city and around 200 people were gathering outside the security line.

Benson Oyo-Nyeko, regional police commander for Kampala said the police is negotiating with the gunmen who are armed with pistols.

He said that "we are still establishing who they are."

"We are in touch with them and that is part of the exercise which is going on," he said, adding that "we want to resolve this matter in the most peaceful and amicable way."

The reason for the hostage-taking was not immediately clear.

Source: Xinhua