Salim Saleh's new responsibilities in Lord's Resistance Army are sign Kony is weakening, according to general 
 
 Uganda's notorious rebel chief Joseph Kony has named his son as deputy leader of his Lord's Resistance Army, a guerrilla force infamous for its extreme violence, the country's army has said. 
 
 Salim Saleh, reported to be 22, is understood to have spent his entire life in the bush with his father's force, which continues to defy international efforts to hunt them down. 
 
 "Previously the son was in charge of the group providing security to the father, but now he has an added responsibility of field command," the top Ugandan general Sam Kavuma said. 
 
 Kavuma claimed it was a sign that Kony's control of the force had been weakened, with fighters now split into several autonomous gangs. 
 
 Long since forced from Uganda, the rebels roam remote forest regions of the Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
 
 "The role of the son is an indication Kony has lost contact with most of his commanders, some who have been killed by our forces and others are in disarray, with the rebels becoming weaker," Kavuma said. 
 
 However, the force has shown itself adept at avoiding capture and continues to launch attacks despite being hunted by Ugandan troops with the support of US special forces. 
 
 Kony, who launched a rebellion in Uganda more than two decades ago, is wanted by the international criminal court along with fellow top commanders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, sexual slavery and using child soldiers. 
 
 "Intelligence information collated from [rebel] defectors indicate Kony's son is the most influential person after his father," said Kavuma, who heads the Ugandan mission searching for the rebel chief. 
 
 Salim Saleh is reportedly named after the younger brother of the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, a top military officer and influential politician. ||||| Image caption The arrest of Caesar Achellam could now pave the way for LRA leader Joseph Kony to be found 
 
 A senior commander in the rebel Lord's Resistance Army has been captured by the Ugandan army, a spokesman has said. 
 
 Caesar Achellam was seized on Saturday following a struggle between Ugandan soldiers and a group of 30 rebels. 
 
 The commander, whom Ugandan officials say is a top rebel military strategist, was captured in the Central African Republic, one of several nations where the Ugandan-led LRA operates. 
 
 The most notorious wanted LRA leader is war crimes suspect Joseph Kony. 
 
 Following his arrest, Achellam told reporters: "The general of the division, Caesar Achellam, who has fought in the jungle since 1984, is from now on in the hands of the Ugandan Army." 
 
 "My coming out will have a big impact for the people still in the bush to come out and end this war soon," he said. 
 
 Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulaigye, meanwhile, said: "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." 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Journalist Tabu Butagira said Achellam was captured with at least one wife and eight children 
 
 The commander's wife, his young daughter and a helper were also held. 
 
 Kony's global notoriety has increased in recent months because of the internet video Kony 2012, which has been watched tens of millions of times since it was posted online by the US advocacy group Invisible Children. 
 
 He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for rape, mutilation and murder of civilians, as well as forcibly recruiting children to serve as soldiers and sex slaves. 
 
 The UN's special representative for Central Africa said on Saturday that Kony was having to move constantly in order to evade capture. 
 
 Abou Moussa said: "Contrary to what Kony used to do - that he would stay one month, two months on the ground - he is now moving almost every other day which means the pressure is mounting on him." 
 
 The Ugandan army is being assisted in its hunt for Kony by soldiers from other African nations, as well as US special forces. 
 
 The strength of his LRA is estimated at between 200 and 500 fighters.
– Joseph Kony has named his 22-year-old son as deputy leader of his Lord's Resistance Army—and top Ugandan general Sam Kavuma says the move is a sign that Kony's control over the guerrilla force is weakening. Fighters have separated into different autonomous groups roaming across remote parts of Africa, and "the role of the son is an indication Kony has lost contact with most of his commanders, some who have been killed by our forces and others are in disarray, with the rebels becoming weaker," Kavuma says, according to AFP. Salim Saleh is said to have spent his life fighting with his father's violent rebel forces. "Previously the son was in charge of the group providing security to the father, but now he has an added responsibility of field command," Kavuma says. The LRA continues to evade Ugandan troops and US special forces attempting to hunt it down. In November, there were reports Kony was ill and his reign might be nearing an end. In a report last week, the UN said Kony is hiding in a Sudanese-controlled area of the disputed border between South Sudan and the Central African Republic, al-Jazeera reports, and Voice of America adds that a UN official predicted Kony's capture is "coming pretty soon."