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Togo players and Officials Badly Injured as their Bus were Shot by Rebels
Published by Antonio on January 8, 2010
Players and managers come and go!
The Togolese team bus were attacked in Cabinda, Angola, after crossing into the country by road from Congo.
It is said that the driver of the bus has died from gunshot wounds. Four others have also been shot: two of them are players, Serge Akakpo and Kodjovi Obilale. A team doctor and another Togolese official were the other two victims.
According to a statement by Akakpo’s club, FC Vaslui, the player was hit by two bullets but thankfully had undergone surgery.
“Akapko has been shot and badly injured. He is now out of danger. Akapko was struck by two bullets and lost lots of blood. He has undergone surgery that has went very well.”
Togo Midfielder Alaixys Romao told The Guardian that Togo’s future in the tournament is now far from certain.
“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. For the moment there is not much news because they have been taken to different hospitals.” He said.
The bus was attacked just over the border from DR Congo into Cabinda, an Angolan exclave. The oil-rich province of Cabinda has recently been embroiled in a long-running independence struggle with Angola. Nonetheless, seven African Cup of Nations matches are scheduled to take place in Cabinda’s main city.
Togo had conducted a training camp in DR Congo prior to the African Cup of Nations, which is due to begin this Sunday.
A statement attributed to the FLEC-PM (Liberation Force of Cabinda – Military Position) to RFI radio indicated that this was the start of a continued operation.
“This attack just caused one death and 3 gravely injured persons. This operation is just the beginning of a series of targeted actions that will continue across the territory of Cabinda,” said a spokesperson.
The Confederation of African Football has stated that the ACN 2010 will not be cancelled despite the attacks. Communications director Souleymane Habuba said, “Our great concern is for the players, but the championship goes ahead.”
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The African Cup Of Nations 2010 Will Continue Despite Attack on Togo Team | Footballholic.Net on Fri, 8th Jan 2010 11:09 pm
[...] the attack on the Togo national team’s bus in Cabinda, Angola, The Confederation of African Football [...]