ICoast, Split in ICoast junta after raid on number two's house by Caspar Leighton ABIDJAN, Sept 20 (AFP) - Paramilitary police in Ivory Coast on Wednesday searched the home of the junta's second-in-command, General Lassana Palenfo, two days after an alleged assassination attempt on the junta chief. The move points to deep divisions within the military leadership ahead of presidential elections next month, in which junta chief General Robert Guei is running. The search was part of the investigation into Monday's attack on Guei's residence, the head of the paramilitary gendarmerie, Colonel Georges Deon told AFP. Deon refused to give any more details. Palenfo, the country's security minister since the military coup last December which swept Guei to power, is currently attending the Olympic Games in Sydney, in his capacity as president of the Ivorian Olympic Committee. Palenfo is considered close to popular former prime minister and presidential hopeful Alassane Ouattara, whose supporters have been implicitly blamed for Monday's attack. Palenfo was security minister under Ouattara in the early 1990s. Two presidential guards were killed in Monday's pre-dawn assault, but Guei was evacuated unharmed. The junta chief has described the attack as an attempt to assassinate him. More than 20 members of the military, including members of the presidential guard have been arrested following the attack. Several of them are supporters of staff sergeant Ibrahim Coulibaly, who is close to Ouattara. Ouattara is at the heart of a fierce debate over his eligibility for the elections, and could see himself barred on the grounds that he has used Burkinabe nationality, under new regulations brought in by the junta earlier this year. Sources close to Palenfo said Wednesday that he was heading back to Abidjan after hearing of the arrest Tuesday of the head of his bodyguard, Major Adama Sidibe, but that he was unaware of the raid on his house. By late morning, regular police had replaced paramilitary gendarmes deployed around Palenfo's house, according to an AFP journalist. A member of the general's family interviewed by AFP at the scene said the gendarmes had arrived at 6:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT). Four hours later, the junta's third-in-command, General Abdoulaye Coulibaly, who is standing in as security minister, arrived at the scene. He said he "did not agree" with the raid on Palenfo's house. The government commissioner, Captain Ange Kessi told AFP that the gendarmes charged with investigating the attack on Guei's house were free to "go ahead with measures they deem necessary". Tension has been running at fever pitch between supporters of Guei and Ouattara, and observers have long entertained the possibility of a split in the junta over the Ouattara question. Palenfo and General Coulibaly are both regarded as being close to Ouattara, although both men have declared their loyalty to Guei. Wednesday's raid by the gendarmes suggests that Guei is not so sure of Palenfo's loyalty. The emerging split at the top of the Ivorian military is a worrying new development in a country that has grown used to squabbles and divisions lower down in the armed forces. There had been at least two army mutinies before Monday's attack. The junta held a referendum in July which tightened up the conditions of eligibility for presidential candidates concerning their nationality. Ouattara's opponents accuse him of being a national of Ivory Coast's northern neighbour, Burkina Faso, and thus ineligible for the top job. Ivory Coast's constitutional court has to rule by October 7 on the eligibility issue. The junta number four, General Mathias Doue is also in Sydney in his role of minister of sport. crl/kc ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------