This couldn’t have come at a worse time for the nation of Angola, which is struggling to reinvent itself after years of bloody civil war. As the nation gears up to play host to the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament beginning on Saturday, news comes that the Togo national team bus was machine-gunned by Angolan rebels on the Congolese border. There are conflicting reports on casualties: Eurosport reports that three players and the bus driver were injured; while Reuters says that the driver was killed, and four others were injured, including two medics. Other reports have up to seven people injured.
From Unprofessional Foul:
As expected, more information is now trickling out. According to various sources, including Sky, the team was traveling in Angola at the time of the attack and the bus driver as killed “on the spot.” Soccernet reports that the injuries include “GSI Pontivy goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilalé and Vaslui FC defender Serge Akakpo. Others reported injured are an assistant coach, a doctor and a journalist who was following the team.
Alaixis Romao, the Grenoble player, told RMC he could count seven people injured.” The attack lasted twenty minutes, during which the players protected themselves by huddling on the floor of the bus. Per Ryan in the comments, Adebayor is not one of the injured. All in all, a very grim scene.
And from Eurosport:
“I am fine but several players are in a bad way,” Nantes striker Thomas Dossevi is reported to have told Radio Monte Carlo.
“We are still at hospital. We were attacked like dogs and had to hide for 20 minutes under the seats to avoid the bullets.”
Togo were due to get their Cup of Nations campaign underway against Ghana on January 11.
On paper, the Angolan Civil War ended with a cease fire in 2002, and the nation has been working to rebuild its infrastructure and prestige ever since. The African Cup of Nations was a big part of that; the government built four stadiums for the 16-team event, and has been issuing assurances that things would be safe since it was awarded the tournament.
But there is still unrest in areas of Angola’s northern border with the Congo, where Angolan war refugees continue to stream back into the country after years of conflict. This is terrible news for all involved.
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African Cup of Nations — Angolan rebels attack Togo bus with machine guns [Yahoo]
Angola’s hosting of African Cup of Nations boosts revival from civil war [Guardian UK]
Driver killed in gun attack on Togo football team [Reuters UK]
Togo Bus machine gunned [Unprofessional Foul]
