Western military officers have begun arriving in Gabon to begin preparations for a programme of training and peace-keeping exercises involving soldiers from eight African states.

The officers, from France and the United States, flew into the Gabonese capital, Libreville, where they'll be joined by colleagues from a number of other European countries. A French military source said the Western soldiers will provide logistics and help deploy, equip and train the African forces for the military exercises, which would test the ability of the African troops and officers to intervene in a simulated internal African conflict.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service