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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)
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LUANDA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Togo's soccer team decided to withdraw from the African Nations Cup on Saturday for a shooting attack on its bus that killed at least three people.
The bus was in Angola about six miles from the border of Congo when the gunfire began. When the ambush ended, 30
minutes later, the driver was dead and the team's assistant coach and spokesman were mortally wounded.
It was not immediately clear if the convoy was targeted. The attackers fled back into Congo after the ambush, which also left at least eight players gravely injured, officials said.
Angola's government blamed the region's main separatist group, the FLEC, who also took responsibility for the attack.
Togo Football Federation vice president Gabriel Ameyi said the team should have flown to Angola instead of driving.
The team decided to withdraw from the continent tournament on Saturday, said Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor who is also captain of the Togo team.
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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)
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Kossi Agassa, a goalie for French club Istres, told France-Inforadio by phone that a Togo assistant coach and a spokesperson were killed in the attack. Agassa said that a second goalie was gravely wounded and taken to South Africa for treatment.
Dr. Fraser Lamond of medical assistance provider International SOS, said one of the injured died before an air ambulance could transport him to South Africa.
Angola's Information Minister Manuel Rabelais said Friday that eight team members and one Angolan were injured.
In Togo, the government said the Angolan driver was killed.
