LRA loses important General
Maj. Gen. Caesar Achellam, one of the most important major generals among the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was captured in the Central African Republic. The Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) announced the successful blow last Sunday. The capture may be quite devastating since the army now expects more soldiers to come out of the bush and abandon the LRA.
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
Ugandan soldiers, who were backed by US Special Forces, tracked Achellam for several weeks. He was finally captured in an ambush of the Ugandan forces at the River Mbou. Achellam was about to cross from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Central African Republic.
Experts assume that the capture of an important ally of Joseph Kony who is wanted by the International Criminal Court will seriously weaken the LRA.
LRA-analyst Angelo Izama commented on the seizure:
From whichever angle you look at it, the loss of Achellam should be very troubling for Kony and a big boost for his manhunt.
Meanwhile, the African Union plans to form a joint guerilla coalition consisting of army forces from the DRC, South Sudan and CAR. They will be part of the general efforts to hunt Kony and the other left over LRA rebels down.