Uganda's army has captured a top commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army

Uganda's army has captured a top commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a spokesman said Sunday.

The army did not name of the rebel, but independent sources confirmed that Ceasar Acellam Otto was captured in CAR jungles.
Early this morning, the army flew out a group of journalists to Central African Republic, where Acellam is believed to have been captured.

"We are going to see a captured top commander," army spokesman Felix Kulayigye told AFP, shortly before reporters were flown on a military aircraft to see the rebel.

The army have not given the name of the rebel, and there were conflicting reports as to whether he is among the top three chiefs wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges.

Following his arrest, Achellam told reporters: "The general of the division, Caesar Achellam, who has fought in the jungle since 1984, is from now on in the hands of the Ugandan Army."

Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulaigye, meanwhile, said: "The arrest of Major General Caesar Achellam is big progress because he is a big fish.

"His capture is definitely going to cause an opinion shift within LRA."

The commander's wife, his young daughter and a helper were also held.

Kony's global notoriety has increased in recent months because of the internet video Kony 2012, which has been watched tens of millions of times since it was posted online by the US advocacy group Invisible Children.

Acellam, in his 60s, was captured with his wife, his young daughter and a helper. He was nabbed armed with just an AK-47 rifle and eight rounds of ammunition. The UPDF yesterday flew local and international journalists to Central African Republic (CAR) where Acellam was paraded.

Acellam is considered the fourth-highest ranking member of the LRA.

The top three commanders are Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Kony, AFP reported. All are at large and wanted by the International Criminal Court along with another man, Vincent Otti, who is thought to be dead.

"From whichever angle you look at it, the loss of Acellam should be very troubling for Kony and a big boost for his manhunt," LRA expert Angelo Izama told the Times.

The capture comes after a visit to CAR, by Abou Moussa the UN special representative for Central Africa. Moussa said that Kony moves nearly every day as hunters close in on him. He said defectors have revealed that the LRA leader, Joseph Kony has become increasingly unstable.

"People who have defected have provided information on his state of mind. Kony is no longer "very, very stable," said Moussa, head of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa, who is helping to coordinate the international hunt and get more governments to try to trap Kony.

A multi-national force, led by Uganda and helped by 100 US Special Forces, has been chasing Kony in Uganda, CAR, South Sudan and DR Congo. The LRA have committed various atrocities that include; rape, mutilation and murder of civilians, as well as forcibly recruiting children to serve as soldiers and sex slaves.

Achellam, who was paraded before media, walked with a limp, which he attributed to an old wound. He was returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo when he walked into the soldiers' ambush. UPDF said it had been on his trail for a month.

Analysts said Achellam was a close ally of Kony and had masterminded the group's relocation from northern Uganda.

"From whichever angle you look at it, the loss of Achellam should be very troubling for Kony and a big boost for his manhunt," said Angelo Izama, an analyst who has written extensively on the LRA.

Kony, a self-styled mystic leader who at one time wanted to rule Uganda according to the biblical Ten Commandments, fled northern Uganda in 2005, roaming first the lawless expanses of South Sudan, then the isolated northeastern tip of Congo.

In December 2008, Uganda launched Operation Lightning Thunder against the LRA, dispersing the rebels and pushing them north into CAR.

The rebels live in the jungles of CAR surviving on wild yams, stolen cattle and drinking from rivers.

The International Criminal Court at The Hague has issued arrest warrants for Kony and his top commanders for several counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, although Achellam is not among those charged by the ICC.

Sources:
newvision
BBC News
allAfrica
Fox News