Le bus de la sélection togolaise mitraillé à la frontière entre le Congo et l'Angola

[Al-khiyal]

CAN :
Le bus de la sélection togolaise mitraillé à la frontière entre le Congo et l'Angola

Vendredi 8 Janvier 2010 -- Le bus de l’équipe nationale du Togo a été mitraillé, vendredi 8 janvier, au moment où il s’apprêtait à traverser la frontière avec l’Angola où débutera la Coupe d’Afrique des Nations (CAN) dimanche prochain. Plusieurs joueurs togolais seraient dans un état grave. Le Togo devait commencer la compétition face au Ghana, lundi à Cabinda, une province située dans l'extrême nord du pays. Selon Thomas Dessevi, un joueur Togolais joint par la radio française RMC, l'incident se serait produit vers 15h15. C’est une bande de rebelles aurait alors mitraillé le car par l'avant, a-t-il précisé. « On a deux joueurs blessés. On venait de passer la frontière, on avait rempli les formalités. On était encadrés par la police. Tout était clean. Il y a eu un mitraillage puissant. Tout le monde s'est jeté sous les sièges », a-t-il dit. « La police a riposté. On se serait cru à la guerre. On est choqués. Quand on sort du bus, on se dit : 'Pourquoi nous ?' On n'a pas beaucoup envie de jouer la CAN. On pense aux copains, aux joueurs blessés », a-t-il ajouté.

[Al-khiyal]

CAN :
Le bus de la sélection togolaise mitraillé à la frontière entre le Congo et l'Angola

Togo bus attacked by gunmen

January 8, 2010 -- French media reports say a bus carrying the Togo national football team has been attacked by gunfire in Angola ahead of the African Cup of Nations. Several players are reported injured. Togo striker Thomas Dossevi tells radio station RMC that "several players are in a bad state." He says the team was "shot at like dogs" by hooded gunmen who were "armed to the teeth." Another player, Alaixys Romao, says he believes seven people were hit by machine gunfire, including two players. The team traveled by bus into Angola from neighboring Congo, where they had been training. The 16-team tournament starts Sunday. Togo is due to play its opening match on Monday against Ghana.

[Al-khiyal]

Togo footballers shot in ambush

January 8, 2010 -- Gunmen have opened fire with machine guns on a bus carrying Togo's football team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, wounding several players. Officials say the shooting occurred in the Angolan oil-rich territory of Cabinda, where rebels have been fighting for independence. The Angolan government called the incident an "act of terrorism". There are reports of serious injuries. Togo is due to play its first game in Cabinda on Monday. Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was on the bus but is unhurt. In a statement, Manchester City said Adebayor had been "shaken by the terrible events" but was "unharmed". The bus was travelling to Cabinda from the squad's training ground in the Republic of Congo when the shooting happened. "This was an act of terrorism," Cabinda affairs minister Bento Bembe told Reuters news agency. However Africa Cup of Nations officials described the attackers as armed robbers. Togo striker Thomas Dossevi told France's RMC radio that several players were "in a bad state". "We were machine-gunned, like dogs," he said. "At the border with Angola - machine-gunned! I don't know why. I thought it was some rebels. We were under the seats of the bus for 20 minutes, trying to get away from the bullets." The identities of those injured - who also included team doctors - are not known. Togo are due to play Ghana, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast in their group matches. Their first game is against Ghana.

[Al-khiyal]

Attack injures Akakpo & Obilalé

January 8, 2010 -- The two Togo players believed to have been injured in the ambush on their team bus in Angola are Kodjovi Obilalé and Serge Akakpo. The Sparrow Hawks are set to start their Africa Cup of Nations campaign on Monday but their participation is very much in doubt after they come under gunfire shortly after arriving in Angola. The attack took place just five minutes past the Angolan/Democratic Republic of Congo border. The squad had prepared for the tournament in DRC and travelled to the Angola enclave of Cabinda on Friday where the ambush took place. It has been reported that GSI Pontivy goalkeeper Obilalé and Vaslui FC defender Akakpo are the two footballers to suffer injuries while five other members of the support team were also hurt. Akakpo reportedly took a bullet in the back while Obilalé was shot in the kidneys. Reports claim the driver of the bus was killed in the attack.

[Al-khiyal]

After shock Togo bus attack, the games need to be moved from Cabinda

January 8, 2010 -- As Africa gears up for its biggest ever footballing year, the last thing the world wanted to see was bloodshed. Yet with just days remaining before the start of the 2010 African Cup of Nations, that's exactly what has happened. On their way into Cabinda, a disputed exclave of Angola where their group stage matches were to be held, the Togolese national team was attacked when a group of rebels began to fire at their team bus. Players and staff alike dived for cover under the seats; four ended up shot and injured. Then there was a fifth casualty, but one who could not escape the gunfire: the bus driver, who has since died. Of the other four, two of the victims were players; one was the team doctor and the other was a team official of an unconfirmed role. The bullets did not discriminate.

Cabinda itself is an exclave of Angola but is beset by violence, the last remnant of the country's civil war. One thing is at once clear. The area is not safe to host any matches or sporting events of any kind, where there is the risk of a terrorist act with the intent to grab attention at the expense of others' lives. The safety of players, fans and all those concerned is put in danger by staying in Cabinda, and it is obvious that all those matches should be moved to the other cities, with the capital of Angola, Luanda able to host the moved matches from Group B. That this was not recognised earlier by the appropriate governing bodies has had disastrous consequences.

Quite understandably, the Togolese have been traumatised, and their taking part is now in severe doubt. Togo midfielder Alaixys Romao confirmed to The Guardian that Togo's future in the tournament is far from certain. He said, "We're not thinking yet of what could happen. But it's true that no one wants to play. "We're not capable of it. We're thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground." Midfielder Richmond Forson put it best, telling Canal Plus, "It's disgusting to take bullets for a football match.''

An earlier statement attributed to the Republic of Cabinda indicates that the attack was aimed at the Angolan government security forces that accompanied the Togo team bus. By necessity this means that the attack had nothing to do with football, but instead was a bloody publicity stunt. That an innocent driver would be the only casualty has perhaps given the shooters the worldwide headlines that they wanted, but as far as gaining the sympathy of the world goes, they may soon learn that they have achieved just the opposite.

CAF and the Angolan organizing committee are currently in an emergency meeting to decide how to go forth and whether or not to continue with the tournament after the incident, but perhaps the best thing to do would be to continue with the matches moved to a safer part of the country, which is not threatened by the rebel forces. Sport, after all, should not be held to ransom, and as long as it is possible to put a ball down and play, the world of football should do it. The game is what brings us together - if it can't be done in Cabinda then it must be done elsewhere. While doing this, the obviously shocked and upset Togolese need to be allowed time to decide whether or not to continue in the competition. No matter what they do, they will leave with their heads held high. Here's hoping that the competition as a whole can be an event to remember for the right reasons as well as the wrong ones.

[Al-khiyal]

African Cup of Nations:
Togo players want to pull out of tournament

January 8, 2010 -- Following the horrific attack on the Togolese national team bus in Angola today, reports suggest a number of the Togo players have decided they don’t want to participate in the African Cup Of Nations. While news of the incident is still sketchy, we know that masked assailants fired a number of bullets at the team bus, reportedly killing the driver and injuring an as yet unconfirmed number of others. Grenoble midfielder Alaixis Romao told RMC that playing in the competition was the last thing on the players' minds right now. "We are not thinking about possible actions yet, but it's true no one wants to play," he said. "We are not capable. Before everything we have to think of the health of our injured.” Midfielder Richmond Forson also put footballing matters into perspective, telling Canal Plus, "It's disgusting to take bullets for a football match.''

[Al-khiyal]

Angola rebels FLEC claim Togo football team attack

LUANDA, January 8, 2010 (Reuters) - Angolan separatist guerrilla group FLEC claimed responsibility on Friday for an attack on Togo’s football squad which killed the driver of a coach the team were travelling in and wounded nine others, including two players. The bus had just entered the Angolan enclave of Cabinda, where separatists have waged a three-decade long war, when it came under heavy gunfire for several minutes, a Togo team official said.