Luanda, Angola, January 09: The Togo national team who are in Angola in preparation for the African Nations Cup where attacked by unidentified gunmen killing the bus driver and injuring 9 others two of them seriously.
Togo’s participation in the tournament which begins on Monday now hangs in balance after the incident. Togo were scheduled to meet Ghana in the group opener.
The bus carrying the Togo team and Togolese football officials was shot at with machine guns shortly after it crossed the border from Congo into Angola Friday. The border area is regarded as unsafe, given the presence of various rebel groups.
The Africa Cup of Nations is set to start Sunday in Angola, and the first World Cup ever held on African soil is to be held in South Africa in June.
Gabriel Ameyi, vice president of the Togolese Football Federation, confirmed that six people were injured, including keeper Obilale Kossi and defender Serge Akakpo. Akapo’s Rumanian club Vaslui said the player, 22, was hit by two bullets and lost a lot of blood, although his life was not at risk.
A separatist group, the Front for the Liberation of Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened two days before the start of the 2010 African Nations Cup, Africa’s most-followed sporting event.
“This operation is just the start of a series of planned actions that will continue to take place in the whole territory of Cabinda,” said the statementwhich is signed by FLEC’s secretary general Rodrigues Mingas.
–Agencies