The deputy chief of staff of the French armed forces, General Jean-Paul Raffene, has said France could help equip an African peace-keeping force for Guinea Bissau.

General Raffene was speaking during a break in preparatory discussions in Paris for this weekend's Franco-African summit.

He said a stockpile of equipment, including one-hundred vehicles, was on standby in Senegal.

The president of Guinea Bissau, Joao Nino Vierra, and the rebels have agreed that West African peackeeping troops be stationed in the country pending elections early next year.