VZCZCXRO4622
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0732 1870751
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060751Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3247
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000732 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IV PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: PM SORO CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF 
ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE 
 
¶1.  Several Ambassadors accompanied acting SRSG Abou Moussa 
to Bouake to visit Prime Minister Soro on July 3.  The 
meeting, which lasted about 45 minutes, devoted more time to 
formal expressions of sympathy and Soro's detailed account of 
what happened than to substantive political discussions. 
 
¶2.  PM Soro related that President Gbagbo has called him 
every day since the incident to express his sympathy.  The PM 
stated that both he and President Gbagbo remained determined 
to move the political process forward toward elections. 
 
¶3.  Turning to the incident itself, PM Soro cleared his 
Forces Nouvelles troops of responsibility for the incident; 
he specifically mentioned Zone Commanders Ousmane Sherif and 
Zacharie Kone, who have been cited in the press as suspects. 
Soro said that some arrests have been made, but not of those 
who carried out the attack.  He did not identify those 
arrested.  The PM said the assailants had been trained and 
brought in from the outside, and he knew who financed and 
commanded them.  He did not elaborate on the last point, but 
to the assembled ambassadors, this appeared to be a reference 
to Ibrahim Coulibaly, one of the brains behind the 2002 coup 
attempt who had a falling out with Soro and has subsequently 
lived in exile outside of Cote d'Ivoire. 
 
¶4.  PM Soro informed acting SRSG that he would be writing to 
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to request that an 
international investigation be carried out of the incident. 
Soro stated that this would be the only way to ensure that 
the investigation was impartial.  Abou Moussa promised to 
alert the Secretary General that the letter would be 
forthcoming. 
HOOKS