Communications Minister Guillaume Soro was attacked when he tried to visit the headquarters of state television in Abidjan, by members of a hardline paramilitary youth organization opposed to any concessions to the rebels . Soro is also the Secretary General of the Patriotic Movement of Cote d'Ivoire (MPCI), the main rebel group. He was forced to hide in the building's infirmary for two hours, until police restored order. Soro claimed that the attack amounted to a failed assassination attempt.

Tension between the government and rebel supporters had been building up before the attack, slowing down progress towards the planned demobilization and disarmament of rebel units. The disarmament process had been due to begin on August 1. - Adam Geibel