Fugitive general denies plot A former member of Ivory Coast's ruling military administration has told the BBC he was not involved in an alleged plot to assassinate head of state General Robert Guei. This is a ridiculous set-up. I am surprised and it fills me with indignation. General Abdoulaye Coulibaly General Abdoulaye Coulibaly, number three in the administration, fled after being dismissed together with its number two, General Lassana Palenfo, on Friday. Both men are from the north of the country, the same region as opposition leader Alassane Ouattara whose candidature in planned forthcoming presidential elections is being challenged by General Guei. Dozens of soldiers of the presidential guard, many from the north of the country, have been arrested following an attack on General Guei's house on 18 September in a move which correspondents say displays deep ethnic divisions within the military. Arms A statement from the administration on Tuesday said Generals Palenfo and Coulibaly had fled after being implicated in the alleged plot to kill General Guei. State television said weapons had been found at General Coulibaly's house during a search on Tuesday. General Guei has rejected African leaders' attempts to find a solution Speaking from hiding to the BBC's French service General Coulibaly said he was astonished by the accusations made against him. "This is a ridiculous set-up. I am surprised and it fills me with indignation. "He [Guei] has accused me but he knows full well that we would never have done that because he knows me, and we have a good relationship," he said. General Coulibaly would not disclose his whereabouts but said the administration knew where he was hiding. Disagreement He said although he had been one of General Guei's closest supporters during the coup on 24 December they now differed on the way forward. "I did not want to stay on after the transition, I have no wish to go right to the top of the state hierarchy," he said. General Guei initially said he had no wish to retain power after a civilian democracy was restored to Ivory Coast but later changed his mind and announced his candidature in presidential elections due on 22 October. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------