Ugandan forces have captured a top commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, bringing them a step closer to finding fugitive warlord Joseph Kony.

A Ugandan military spokesman said Sunday that Caesar Achellam, a major general in Kony's ranks, was captured during an ambush a day earlier in the Central African Republic.

Kony and his LRA have waged a 26-year reign of terror in Central Africa, attacking and looting villages, killing and kidnapping their inhabitants, and displacing millions of people from their homes.

At least 2,500 troops are currently searching for the fugitive outlaw and his band of 200 followers. But more are expected as military leaders from four central African nations prepare to ask the African Union and the United Nations to endorse a robust mandate for their campaign.

The long hunt for Kony recently gained international attention, following the online success of a video by a group campaigning for his capture.

Last year, U.S. President Barack Obama dispatched 100 military advisers to Central Africa to work with the regional forces searching for Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.