Battling in Ivorian rebel ranks

By James Copnall
BBC correspondent in Abidjan

Rebels have controlled the north since September 2002

The killing of 22 fighters in inter-rebel clashes in June demonstrates that Ivory Coast's rebels are and remain a divided bunch.

Gun battles raged in two major towns under rebel command, as one faction attempted to usurp another.

The rebels took control of the north of the country after a failed coup attempt on 19 September 2002.

Since then other rebel groups have sprung into life and then faded from prominence with bewildering speed.

'Satellite' movements

The initial rebel group was the Ivory Coast Patriotic Movement, known by its acronym MPCI.

When the MPCI stopped fighting the government in late 2002, two new groups attacked from the west.

Both the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP) and the Ivorian Popular Movement of the Great West (MPIGO) were included in the January 2003 round-table talks at Marcoussis in France that brought the war to a close.

But it is alleged by many that both MJP and MPIGO have such close links to MPCI that they are effectively satellite movements under MPCI control.

Q&A: Ivory Coast's conflict

One MPCI politician all but confirmed that hypothesis when he told the BBC that an MPIGO spokesman Emmanuel Guei, who attended the Marcoussis peace talks, was actually from the MPCI, "but we didn't have room for him in our delegation so we said he was from MPIGO."

After the Marcoussis peace agreement all three rebel movements have since fused into a group known as the New Forces.

However, that does not mean that the New Forces present a united front - as June's battles prove.

Power struggle

The fighting on 20 June was between troops loyal to Guillaume Soro, the New Forces leader, and soldiers loyal to dissident rebel Ibrahim Coulibaly, better known as IB.

Mr Soro's loyalists, who prevailed militarily, claim partisans of IB attacked them in Korhogo and Bouake, and attempted to assassinate Mr Soro.

They also claim to have killed Bamba Kassoum, known as Kass, in the struggle.

He was the last big rebel chief close to IB following the death of Chief Adama Coulibaly, known as Adams, who was shot dead in Korhogo in February.

The New Forces argue that Kass and his soldiers attacked their positions in Bouake.

Profile: Guillaume Soro

But there is another interpretation: some believe the section of the New Forces loyal to Mr Soro seized the chance to rid their movement of IB's major supporter, and it was they who initiated the fighting.

As for IB himself, his position in the rebellion has never been fully made clear.

The army sergeant has a history of stirring up trouble, playing an important role in Ivory Coast's first coup in 1999 that brought General Robert Guei to power until presidential elections in September 2000.

IB clearly had a key part to play in the current rebellion too, and it is claimed he handpicked many of the soldiers involved in the coup attempt.

On trial

In public IB has always said that Guillaume Soro is the undisputed leader of the New Forces.

However, his supporters among the rebels believe he should be acknowledged as the real boss of the movement.

IB is currently in France awaiting the verdict in a trial in which he stands accused of attempting to destabilise the Ivory Coast.

A decision is due early in July.

In the meantime, IB seems to have lost a large part of his power base among the rebels.

Rebel leaders are no longer a united front

Kass' death, coupled with that of Adams earlier on in the year, means IB's most vociferous advocates have disappeared.

On the surface, it would appear that the inter-rebel fighting has strengthened Mr Soro's position at the head of the New Forces.

Yet there is no doubt the New Forces leadership is worried by the rogue element in their midst.

Both on and off the record, the rebel hierarchy is attempting to claim IB and his men have switched sides and are now working for President Laurent Gbagbo.

In the murky world of rough gunmen and political gambles that characterise the Ivorian crisis, such an about-turn is just about possible - but extremely unlikely.

If the rebel rank and file believe it though, IB's credibility would fall through the floor.

For the moment it seems that Guillaume Soro and his camp have increased their grip on the New Forces - but it would surprise no-one if there were more sudden power shifts to come.