( CNN ) -- Uganda says it has captured a top commander of the Lord 's Resistance Army , the guerrilla movement notorious for its attacks on civilians and use of child soldiers . Ugandan commanders displayed Caesar Achellam to reporters after his capture in what they said was a weekend raid in the Central African Republic . The CAR is one of several African Union countries that has committed troops to hunt down LRA chieftain Joseph Kony , who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court . `` This is a big fish , '' said Col. Felix Kulayigye , a Ugandan military spokesman . `` For Caesar to be in our hands it is a big statement , as far as our efforts to end this rebellion . '' Achellam told reporters he hoped his capture would lead `` my people remaining in the brush '' to give up , `` so that sooner maybe the war would come to an end . '' Radhika Coomaraswamy , U.N. special representative for Children and Armed Conflict , called on Ugandan authorities Monday to `` not apply amnesty but instead , bring him ( Achellam ) to justice . '' `` The arrest and subsequent prosecution of Achellam would send a strong message to the LRA leadership that they will be held accountable for their actions , '' Coomaraswamy said . Achellam was captured with his wife , child and a 12-year-old girl from the Central African Republic , according to the U.N. Achellam and his family are in Ugandan custody in South Sudan . The unidentified girl remains in the Central African Republic . It 's unknown why she was with Achellam , the U.N. said . Kony led a failed uprising against the government of Uganda and was pushed out of Uganda in 2006 . He has been moving around other countries in the region ever since . Abou Moussa , a special U.N. envoy for central Africa , told CNN in March that Kony may be in the Central African Republic with between 200 and 700 remaining troops . Kony is accused of using vicious tactics to recruit children to use them as soldiers and sex slaves and of slicing off ears , noses and limbs of his victims . There are reports of child soldiers brainwashed into killing their own parents . A celebrity-backed video that went viral earlier this year helped make Kony 's alleged crimes more widely known . The half-hour documentary `` KONY 2012 '' was viewed more than 89 million times on YouTube , but the video also spurred a flurry of questions about its producers ' intentions , their transparency and whether the social-media frenzy was too little , too late .
NEW : Achellam was captured with his wife , child and a 12-year-old Central African girl . He is now in the custody of French authorities who are trying to determine if he can be extradited back to France for trial on charges that include kidnapping and torture. `` This is a big fish , '' a Ugandan military spokesman says . Achellam is a top lieutenant to wanted LRA chieftain Joseph Kony .