Uganda's army confirmed on Wednesday that a man who surrendered to US-African forces in the Central African Republic was Dominic Ongwen, a senior commander of the Lord's Resistance Army, a guerrilla group known for extreme violence.

"We can now confirm he's the one and we can also confirm he's in our custody at our base in Obo," Paddy Ankunda, Uganda's military spokesman, said. "We think he was just tired of bush life and simply turned himself in."

A column of Lord's Resistance Army fighters at Ri-Kwangba on southern Sudan's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006. Credit:AFP

US military forces had detained Ongwen, who claimed to be a defector from the militant LRA that has operated in central Africa for three decades, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday in Washington.

Ongwen is among at least four LRA commanders, including the group's leader, Joseph Kony, wanted since 2005 by the International Criminal Court on crimes against humanity and war-crimes charges.