Cote d'Ivoire: Prime Minister Survives Rocket Attack

29 June 2007
allAfrica.com

Three people were killed on Friday when Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro's plane was hit by a rocket. Soro survived the attack, said Forces Nouvelles, Soro's former rebel group.

According the BBC, a rocket hit the plane as it was landing in Bouake, the former rebel stronghold in northern Côte d'Ivoire. The rocket was fired from the city's airport. It is still unknown who is responsible.

Reuters reported that after landing, members of Soro's delegation appeared injured.

A spokesperson for the delegation, Alain Lobognon, described the situation to Agence France Presse: "The plane carrying our delegation was attacked with a rocket at about 10:30 [GMT], while we were landing at Bouake. There are at least three dead but the prime minister escaped."

Soro was named prime minister on April 4 as part of a power-sharing agreement signed between Forces Nouvelles – which seized the north of the country in 2002 – and the government under President Laurent Gbagbo.

Soro has said he wants to disarm the north and prepare for the country's elections, which remain unscheduled.

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