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Uganda Confirms Surrender of LRA Commander


FILE - Ugandan troops patrol Zemio, in Central African Republic, where they are hunting down the fugitive members of the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group.
FILE - Ugandan troops patrol Zemio, in Central African Republic, where they are hunting down the fugitive members of the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group.

Uganda's military has confirmed that a man who turned himself in to U.S. forces in central Africa is a top commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army.

Military spokesman Paddy Ankunda said Wednesday that Uganda confirmed Dominic Ongwen's identity and said he was being held in the Central African Republic town of Obo.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that a man claiming to be Ongwen had surrendered in the C.A.R., where U.S. military advisers have been helping African Union forces pursue LRA fighters.

The U.S. had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture.

Ongwen is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The LRA is blamed for killing and kidnapping tens of thousands of people across four African countries over the last 30 years.

The group battled the Ugandan government for two decades before breaking into bands of roving fighters that have often attacked and pillaged settlements in remote areas.

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