adebayor
togo players panic after the ambush
CABINDA, Angola (Reuters) - Two members of Togo's national soccer delegation died on Saturday following an ambush on the team bus as it travelled to the African Nations Cup in Angola, and their team appeared set to quit the tournament.
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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. (REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko) |
Friday's attack, in which the driver was also killed and seven others were injured, took place in the province of Cabinda. It was claimed by the FLEC, a rebel group that has been fighting for secession sporadically for decades.
Togolese officials named the dead men as media officer Stanislas Ocloo and assistant coach Amalete Abalo, and said reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale had been evacuated to Johannesburg for medical treatment.
Togolese soccer administrators met the players, and Togo's presidency said the federation would decide whether to quit the three-week tournament after returning to the capital Lome.
But Togo's captain and star striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who escaped the attack unharmed, was already flying home, his English club Manchester City said.
The attack, claimed by separatist rebels, came five months before South Africa hosts the World Cup, the first African nation to hold the world's biggest single sport event.
Rich Mkhondo, chief spokesman for the World Cup organising committee, said the attack had no relevance to the World Cup.
"We remain confident that everyone coming to South Africa will have a safe and secure experience in our country," he said.
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