I. Introduction
1. The present report was prepared pursuant to Security Council resolution 1765 (2007), by which the Security Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and the French forces until 15 January 2008, expressed its intention to review the mandates of UNOCI and the French forces by 15 October and requested me to report, before that date, on the implementation of the key steps of the peace process. The report provides an update on major developments in Côte d'Ivoire since my report of 14 May 2007 (S/2007/275).
II. Security situation
2. The security situation in Côte d'Ivoire has remained generally calm since the signing of the Ouagadougou Agreement on 4 March 2007. However, an attack on an aircraft carrying Prime Minister Soro in Bouaké on 29 June created tensions and underscored the fragile state of the security situation in the country, as well as the Ouagadougou Agreement. The aircraft came under rocket fire shortly after landing at Bouaké airport, where the Prime Minister had arrived to install magistrates appointed to preside over the mobile court operations for the identification of the population. Prime Minister Soro escaped unharmed but four of his close aides were killed and several others were seriously wounded. President Gbagbo made a nationally broadcasted statement in which he strongly condemned the attack and stressed that potential spoilers would not undermine the peace process. Prime Minister Soro insisted that the ceremony to install the mobile courts magistrates should proceed on the same day, despite the attack, and pledged to continue to implement the Ouagadougou Agreement.
3. President Gbagbo requested me, in a letter dated 12 July 2007, to facilitate the establishment of an independent international inquiry into the incident, in addition to the investigation already launched at the national level. To that end, an exploratory team from relevant United Nations departments will travel to Côte d'Ivoire to collect detailed information from the Ivorian authorities, which would enable me to develop realistic options for responding to President Gbagbo's request.
4. In another serious incident, on 24 May 2007, members of the Fédération estudiantine et scolaire de Côte d'Ivoire looted the offices of two human rights organizations in Abidjan with considerable damage to property. In August, students from the same organization were involved in a number of other violent incidents, including an attack on a police station to free their comrades from lawful custody, the ransacking of the offices of a national newspaper and the hijacking of a United Nations vehicle carrying three passengers.
5. Meanwhile, the security situation in the volatile west of the country continues to improve, as the Ivorian mixed police units began their operations with support from United Nations police officers. The units provided security support for national school examinations, which were conducted throughout the country for the first time since the crisis began in 2003. The unit deployed to Zéalé conducted regular patrols of villages bordering Liberia to monitor the security situation.
6. The north of the country, which remains under the control of Forces nouvelles commanders, grew increasingly insecure owing to the continued absence of the national law enforcement agencies and a functioning justice system. Forces nouvelles elements do not receive regular salaries and continue to resort to extortion for their livelihood. Armed robberies have also been reported along the main highways. Meanwhile, the status of some 600 police auxiliaries, who were trained by United Nations police to maintain law and order in the north, is still undefined. According to the Ouagadougou Agreement, the 600 police auxiliaries from the Forces nouvelles are expected to provide security for the redeployment of State officials to the north.
7. UNOCI troops continued to conduct regular patrols along the borders with Liberia and Guinea to monitor the situation and prevent cross-border movement of weapons or armed groups. In that regard, the Mission and the United Nations Mission in Liberia carried out concurrent patrols on their respective sides of the Ivorian-Liberian border. The missions' contiguous military contingents also participated in regular coordination and information-sharing meetings on both sides of the border.