Post date: May 13, 2012 6:48:3 PM
The Uganda People's Defence Force said Caesar Achellam, a major general in Kony's outfit of about 200 fighters, had been captured in an ambush on Saturday (May 12) along the banks of the River Mbou in neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR).
The army paraded the captured rebel at a news conference in one of their command posts near the Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo border.
Uganda military announces it has captured Caesar Achellam, one of the top five members of the Lord's Resistance Army, bringing it a step closer to catching Joseph Kony, the notorious rebel leader accused of war crimes.
DJEMA, CENTRAL AFRICA REPUBLIC (MAY 13, 2012) (REUTERS) - Uganda has captured one of the Lord's Resistance Army's top five rebels, bringing it a step closer to catching Joseph Kony, the LRA leader accused of war crimes, the military said on Sunday (May 13).
Achellam, who was given an opportunity to address the media, urged fellow LRA fighters to come out of the jungle.
"The man talked of as commander Ceasar Wod'Oginyi' Achellam who was commander for more than 20 years has now been confirmed, he is in the hand of the Ugandan government with the UPDF, they should not worry or people remaining there in the bush, they should not worry because my coming out has made a big impact on the people still remaining in the bush to be encouraged to come out so that sooner may be the war would come to an end," said Achellam.
Achellam however refused to acknowledge doing anything wrong.
"When I came to understand military tradition, in the act of war that the word sorry does not exist, the word sorry does not much exist, that is what I learnt, I don't know because I was a young man, a student recruited in to the army of rebellion, so what I do say is that in the act of war the word sorry does not exist," he said
UPDF said at his arrest, Achellam was armed with just an AK-47 rifle and eight rounds of ammunition and was apprehended together with his wife, a young daughter and a helper.
The UPDF, which has a force hunting for Kony full-time in the jungles of CAR, backed by U.S. troops, said the capture of Achellam would encourage other fighters to abandon the LRA.
"For the people Uganda this is a big fish, for Caesar to be in our hands, it is a big statement in as far as our effort to end this rebellion, so the stability and peace obtaining now in northern Uganda is only and only going to be encouraged by this kind of situation and of course for those who have their children in the bush, we guarantee you, when ever they would be getting into our hands they will survive as Achellam has survived," said UPDF spokesman Felix Kulaigye.
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.
Kony has evaded the region's militaries for nearly three decades, kidnapping tens of thousands of children to fill the ranks of his Lord's Resistance Army and serve as sex slaves as he moves through the bush. Thousands have been killed by his brutal army.
Kony was thrust back into the spotlight recently when a video, "Kony 2012", highlighting the chilling mutilations, rapes and murders carried out by his spell-bound fighters went viral on the Internet.
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.
Kony is accused of abducting children to use as fighters and sex slaves and is said to have a fondness for hacking off limbs.
A 30-minute YouTube video by California-based film-maker Jason Russell calling for the arrest of Kony swept across the Internet in March, attracting tens of millions of views, bringing the LRA's atrocities to the attention of many people previously unaware of the group's existence.
The Ugandan government, the African Union and the United States all stepped up their commitment to the hunt for Kony in the wake of the outrage caused by the video, "Kony 2012".