Paris, France - France has asked African countries, affected by the menace of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), to come together, under an African Union (AU) initiative, to effectively deal a devastating blow to the rebel movement, Bernard Valero, spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said here Thursday.

Briefing the press, Valero said that France, the AU, the US and the UN were reflecting on how best to improve the fight against the LRA, led by Joseph Kony.

'In November 2010, France provided significant support to 300 Central African troops deployed to the eastern part of their country, threatened by the LRA, particularly in terms of operational readiness, fuel for vehicles, air transport, individual and transmission equipment,' said the spokesman for the Quai d'Orsay.

After wreaking havoc in Uganda for a long time, LRA rebels now operate in Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan and South Sudan.

In 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an international arrest warrant against Kony, accusing him of war crimes, crimes against humanity as well as child abduction.

Pana 14/10/2011