Togo's reserve soccer goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale arrives on a stretcher at Lanseria airport after being evacuated to Johannesburg for medical treatment, January 9, 2010. The assistant coach and the press officer of Togo's national soccer delegation died on Saturday following an ambush on the team's bus as it travelled to the African Nations Cup in Angola, a team member told French radio. Friday's attack, in which the driver was also killed and seven others were injured, took place in Cabinda, a province where guerrillas have fought a secession campaign for decades. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
LUANDA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a shooting attack on the bus carrying Togo's national soccer team in Angola's enclave of Cabinda has risen to three, including the team's assistant coach and spokesman, according to reports
Togo's goalie Kossi Agassa told the France-Info radio by phone that among the casualties, his team's second goalie was also seriously wounded and transported to South Africa for treatment.
The bus carrying Togo's team was ambushed on Friday in Cabinda by suspected separatists, who sprayed machine gun bullets into the vehicle, killing the Angolan driver on the spot, wounding nine others, marking one of the worst tragedies in African sports history.
The bus had just entered Cabinda, where separatists have waged a three-decade-long war, when it came under heavy gunfire for several minutes.
A separatist group called the Front for the Liberation of Enclave of Cabinda claimed responsibility for the attack, but the claim was immediately rejected by Antonio Bento Bembe, Angola's minister in charge of affairs in Cabinda who said the separatist group no longer existed.
An unidentified man is moved to a hospital in Cabinda January 8, 2010, in this video grab obtained from Angolan TV January 9, 2010. Gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Togo's national soccer squad to the top African tournament in Angola on Friday, killing the driver and wounding nine others, including two players, a Togo team official said. 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, the official said. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
The minister condemned the attack on the Toglese team as an "act of terrorism" carried out by individuals who wanted to cause problems for the government.
Cabinda is a small oil-rich enclave in the very north of Angola, separated from the rest of the country by a strip of land belonging to Congo. Over half of Angola's oil are produced in Cabinda, but local people claimed the get few benefits from the oil produced on their lands.
Cabinda is one of the four Angolan cities of host the CAN 2010 final stage matches.
A video grab from Angolan TV shows Emmanuel Adebayor (R) of Manchester City being comforted outside a hospital in Cabinda January 8, 2010, in this video grab obtained from Angolan TV January 9, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
An important delegation be headed by the Angolan minister on internal affairs, ministers of youth and sports, members from the prime minister's office as well as a powerful delegation from CAF is expected to arrive in Cabinda on Saturday to access the situation after the attack.
The Angolan Prime Minister will meet CAF President Issa Hayatouto take decisions to guarantee the smooth running of the CAN2010 competition, which Angola hoped to stage as a national pride and a showcase of its socio-economic development since the civil war ended in 2002.
