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Driver killed in Togo players attack

Driver killed in Togo players attack

Posted: 2010-01-08 20:44

Togo’s national team bus was machine-gunned by Angolan rebels on the Congolese border ahead of the African Cup of Nations, leaving the bus driver dead and several players in serious condition, reports say.

The Togolese were training in the Congolese city of Pointe-Noire and were travelling the short distance by bus to Kabinda when they were hit by machine-gun fire.

Three Togo players and the bus driver are reported to have been injured, with the driver dying soon after.

“I am fine, but several players are in a bad way,” Nantes striker Thomas Dossevi 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, but Dossevi said that the team no longer wanted to play at the tournament.

“We don’t feel much like playing the CAN Cup. Our thoughts are with our friends, the injured,” said Dossevi, of French second division side Nantes.

Dossevi named goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale of French amateur side GSI Pontivy and defender Serge Akakpo of Romanian outfit Vaslui as among the injured.

He added: “We had just crossed the border (between Congo and Cabinda, where Togo are to play their Group B matches). We had filled in the border formalities and were surrounded by police.

“Everything was fine. Then there was a powerful burst of gunfire. Everyone dived under the seats and the police fired back. It felt like war had broken out. It's shocking. When we got off the bus we were asking ourselves what was up.”

The rebel group FLEC-PM (Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Military Position) have claimed responsibility for the attack, and said more will follow.

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I hate downs fans : 2010-01-08 21:12

Guys we may hate hack bt jhoo!when h said BB misin afcon was a blesing in disguis dis is what h meant dis barbaric behviour maks.africa as gun crazd continent it gvs us a bad name!! Am glad n 1 ws kild!

Uche: 2010-01-08 21:49

Terrorists again? God help Africa.

Y..I..N..K..A: 2010-01-08 22:01

2 PLAYERS SERIOUSLY INJURED
-Goalkeeper
-Defender

1 DRIVER ((( KILLED )))

fudza : 2010-01-08 22:23

i am shocked and ashamed. Lesson-instability in your neighbouring nations cn affect u. Eye opener lets make sure MOCA,BOTS,NAM,LESO,SWAZ,and ZIM dnt pul us dwn come June

Emeka: 2010-01-08 22:31

Nigerians must be involved its their style.....Drugs, prostitution and murder...all linked.

Ntuthuko: 2010-01-08 22:35

OMG this is a disaster... Everyone was laughing at Germany for their bullet proof vests, now look...Just when Foreigners were getting excited about the WC this happens... I guess we'll have to wait and see hoe this will effect SA...

God Help us!

Ntuthuko: 2010-01-08 22:38

OMG this is a disaster... Everyone was laughing at Germany for their bullet proof vests, now look...Just when Foreigners were getting excited about the WC this happens... I guess we'll have to wait and see hoe this will effect SA...

God Help us!

Onyi : 2010-01-08 22:42

What a shame to our Africa? Lets pray for our motherland. From Nsukka... onyianyi@yahoo.com

mojokolo: 2010-01-08 22:44

THIS IS ALL CAF's FAULT
The nations should have never been hosted in Angola. The country is just coming out of civil war and it is totally under developed. The country is not stable too.
A few days to the tournament the stadia are still being built. There is no public transport system in the country, not even the normal buses we have in Naija. There are very few hotels in the country and some hosting cities other than the capital are even worse. Because of this accommodation is expensive and hard to find. The stadia that have been completed have not had any football matches played in them at all.
And most importantly the safety of our treasured players and enthusiastic fans cannot be guaranteed.
This should be a lesson to CAF. The nations cup is not a tournament used to help countries develop, it is for countries that are ready to host it.

Ntuthuko: 2010-01-08 22:46

OMG this is a disaster... Everyone was laughing at Germany for their bullet proof vests, now look...Just when Foreigners were getting excited about the WC this happens... I guess we'll have to wait and see hoe this will effect SA...

God Help us!

Ntuthuko: 2010-01-08 22:52

OMG this is a disaster... Everyone was laughing at Germany for their bullet proof vests, now look...Just when Foreigners were getting excited about the WC this happens... I guess we'll have to wait and see hoe this will effect SA...

God Help us!

KEN: 2010-01-08 23:06

@Emeka congrats to you Ghanaian, think you are very happy for this ugly incident. You think you can change your name here.
I feel very sorry for the Togolese players. I will support them in which ever decision they would come up with either to continue on the tournament or quit.

jeff: 2010-01-08 23:10

Emeka: 2010-01-08 22:31 [ Report ]
Nigerians must be involved its their style.....Drugs, prostitution and murder...all linked.

...................
YOU JUST GAVE 'DELUSIONAL' A BRAND NEW MEANING.
KICKOFF SHOULD HOLD A POLL FOR THE DUMBEST COMMENT IN THIS FORUM;..YOU RE BOUND TO WIN IT.

Ejyky: 2010-01-08 23:21

I AM VERY ANNOYED AND ASHMED, WHY MUST CAF GIVE A HOSTING RIGHT TO A COUNTRY AT WAR,WHILE NIGERIA IS ALWAYS READY TO HOST THE TOUNAMENT,PLS THEY SHOULD BRING OUR BOYS HOME IF THEIR SAFETY IS NOT ASSURED,RUBISH!

sonny: 2010-01-09 00:10

@Emeka. I have serious doubt about this guy's nationality, he surely can;t be Nigerian.

Back to more a more serious issue - CAF , the organizing committee and entire Africa should give the Togolese National team all the support they require to recover from this situation. I just hope that this heinous act perpetrated by primitive rebels who are hell bent on further dragging the name of the African continent in the mud does not have an irreversible negative impact on this tournament and the World cup coming up later in South Africa

obinna: 2010-01-09 00:18

who is this "kwasia"? ghana man that is inpersinating himself bearing Nigerian name (EMEKA),and talk like a lunatic. what those Nigeria have to do with what happen in Angola, ungreatefull idiots.

obinna: 2010-01-09 00:18

who is this "kwasia"? ghana man that is inpersinating himself bearing Nigerian name (EMEKA),and talk like a lunatic. what those Nigeria have to do with what happen in Angola, ungreatefull idiots.

obinna: 2010-01-09 00:23

so sorry for ghanians if this is how they want to qualify for there fisrt round. and sorry for the togolesse for fallen the victim of the ghanians.

Allen: 2010-01-09 00:50

@ obinna you need to watch what you say why would we try to kill togo just because of one stupid match we dont need to kill togo in order to beat them. all the same i do feel sorry for them because they did not deserve that, but all the same you are an ignorant moron for even suggesting that ghanaians are behind this

Crossley: 2010-01-09 01:26

Obinna< please be very careful with your words since Ghanaians are just not noted for this heinous acts. Just stop it for you are not doing yourself any good please, One Africa United We stand by doing away with the perpetration for inhuman acts against mankind no matter the colour and nationality. Crossley

obinna: 2010-01-09 01:29

ghanians accusing Nigerians of drug, should look back at akufuado and his men before accusing order country.PROSTITUTION- ghana woman is ready to die because of "kotie" and as of ghana man, "eswe" is worth more than everything on earth to them, and they should remember that they introduce prostitution in Nigeria, that was the reason for GHANA MUST GO back then in Nigeria.

obinna: 2010-01-09 01:39

@Allen and Crossley, where are you hidden when you follow country man inpersinated and insulted Nigerians? now you come up to defend your country right? as for you allen, i have nothing to tell a nusance like you in this forum .

Eric: 2010-01-09 01:39

@Emeka, I think u should ask your kinsmen, the Ghanains, what actually happened. I think your Essiens and the Muntaris are behind this evil and devilish act.

Crossley: 2010-01-09 01:44

Obinna< please be very careful with your words since Ghanaians are just not noted for this heinous acts. Just stop it for you are not doing yourself any good please, One Love Africa. United We stand, by doing away with the perpetration of inhuman acts against mankind, no matter the colour and nationality. Crossley

Eric: 2010-01-09 01:45

@Emeka, I think u should ask your kinsmen, the Ghanains, what actually happened. I think your Essiens and the Muntaris are behind this evil and devilish act.

Eric: 2010-01-09 01:53

@Emeka, I think u should ask your kinsmen, the Ghanains, what actually happened. I think your Essiens and the Muntaris are behind this evil and devilish act.

kayode: 2010-01-09 02:22

I deeply sympathiz wit d togolese but i also cnt but question d wisdom behind chosin 2 travel by road in such a volatile country..moreover,CAF's regulation is simply by air n im nt sure dey properly comunicated dia intent 2 travel via road..so plz lets nt be 2 quick 2 isue blames n judgement guyz.i hop som1 agrees wiv me

mojokolo: 2010-01-09 03:27

@Eric and Obinna
Just because Emeka is stupid and ignorant does not mean you have to stoop to his level. Look what he has done now, said something insulting and just waits for your response so he can laugh at angry Nigerians when they reply.
He is just taunting you, don't be his prey. And please do not abuse fellow Africans, especially Ghanians, who we have the best relationship with in the whole of west Africa.

Fine: 2010-01-09 05:41

Lets be desent, aticualtive, professional in our comments. Lets treat others with the diginity they deserve even when we don't agree with them. When you have nothing to say wait till you have a point. There is no rule that you must comment on every issue. What happened to our Togoless brothers should not be tribalized. Lets mourn as they are doing and not point accusing figures to the wrong direction as rebel group FLEC-PM (Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Military Position) have claimed responsibility for the attack. Also let there be mesures put in place to curb its repeatation as it appears they may attack again. For my Togoless players, I hope you recover well, and where possible still play the game. Build courage from the Zambia players in 1994 when they came from losing almost all their players from plan crash to nearly winning the Nations Cup.CAF should liase with FIFA where possible to build a more watertight security system and not postpone the tornament as we will be handing victory to these hudlooms since that is their goal. finekenneth@ymail.com, USA

Wrath of a mad black man : 2010-01-09 06:51

Fine>>i couldn't have said it better my self. Well said my guy!

ESHO: 2010-01-09 07:00

SO TOGO GOVERNMENT COULD NOT PROVIDE A SECURITY FOR THERE PLAYER WHEN TRAVEL BY ROAD???WELL I DONT THINK THERE ANYTHING BAD THERE TRAVELING BY ROAD THIS THI AFRICA CONTINENT..SO THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY SIRING OR SECURITY MAN FOLLOW THEM..OH I THINK WORLD NEED TO DEAL WITH THIS PEOPLE THAT DOES DIS..THANKS YOU

Frans: 2010-01-09 07:01

FUDZA (or what eva ur name is), there is no instability in NAMIBIA. Get ur facts right before u post ur silly comments, punk ass idiot!

Benny : 2010-01-09 07:17

I am very touched by this article.safety first,those people said more attack will follow so the tournament must be called off.we dont know what will happen next,they can go 2 the stadium and start shooting.we have only one chance of living so lets respect it.

Steve o: 2010-01-09 07:27

@who is lunatics @imbecile calling himself Emeka,i only have your parents to blame for not given you the necessary home training couple with poor academic background.U will never see peace until you change that name.

Steve o: 2010-01-09 07:28

@who is lunatics &imbecile calling himself Emeka,i only have your parents to blame for not given you the necessary home training couple with poor academic background.U will never see peace until you change that name.

Steve o: 2010-01-09 07:31

@who is this lunatics &imbecile calling himself Emeka,i only have your parents to blame for not given you the necessary home training couple with poor academic background.U will never see peace until you change that name.

Nesta : 2010-01-09 07:46

Eish why using the bus it seems we realy dnt care much abt our players,idiots like thoz rebels are creating a bad image 4 africa,we dnt need this in football,if any of the rebels want war then they must mess with the americans and they will know what war is ask the afghanistanis they know them well

wara : 2010-01-09 08:12

That's unacceptable, SA should strengthned their security

Wonder : 2010-01-09 08:17

Only South has the capabilities and expertise to host a succesful and incident free tournament, FACT!

Ade: 2010-01-09 08:46

This is a big shame for CAF "carrying on with the tournament" despite what happened to Togo. I s it because Togo is a small country. Assuming this had happened to Egypt Nigeria or any other powerhouse they would have thot twice abt hosting the AFN in Angola again. Also to the organisers, their decision to have Cabinda as a hosting center is utterly stupid. When Nigeria hosted the recent U17 world cup, even though Warri had one of the best stadia, they were denied the hosting as a center because of the Niger delta crisis there. I begin to wonder if CAF even has the interest of players at heart. CAF shld either move the AFN to a later date or give another country the hosting rights. qwe shldnt risk our players lives at any cost. All other participants shld also refuse to play the tournament if something is not done by CAF- life is very precious, we shdnt play politics withs the lives of our illustrious African players

roki: 2010-01-09 09:10

Its not CAF to blame but Angola, when they wanted to host , they promised the entire Africa that everything is fine but now look at what happened. Togo should not participate. all the nations that wanted to stay in Angola during the world cup should change thier minds and stay in peaceful Botswana.

roki: 2010-01-09 09:14

South Africa should co-host, maybe with Zambia, Lesotho or Swaziland. Angola has failed to provide security and must not host.

james: 2010-01-09 09:46

THIS IS A SHAME, IT WILL DEFINATELY HAVE A NEGETIVE EFFECT ON AFRICA AS A WHOLE. I WAS SUPPRISE THAT A PARTICLAR GROUP CLAIMED RESPOSIBILITY FOR THIS WICKED ACT. IT'S TIME AFRICANS WORKED TOGETHER AS ONE RATHER THAN BATTLING FOR SUPREMACY.

Mr.9ja: 2010-01-09 10:35

What a shame to Angola and CAF. I hope this is the end of it, and CAF they have to take serious action.

Mr.9ja: 2010-01-09 10:37

What a shame to Angola and CAF. I hope this is the end of it, and CAF they have to take serious action.

Enomfon(nigeria) : 2010-01-09 10:39

Does it mean that togo is to poor to afford a flight to angola. Why did they hav to travel by road under such state of insecurity? Anyway iam blaming CAF for giving Angola the hosting right when capable country like nigeria is there with world class stadia and security system.

Mr.9ja: 2010-01-09 10:40

What a shame to Angola and CAF. I hope this is the end of it, and CAF they have to take serious action.

Y..I..N..K..A: 2010-01-09 10:45

▌▌♥

........................................@ ERIC and OBINNA

very well said, ghana should be on 1st suspect list. Looks like they want the easy route out of the group stage (((KILL THE PLAYERS)))




▌▌♥

mayowa: 2010-01-09 11:12

This was a shocker when i heard last nite. If among our fellow African brothers our safety is not guaranteed then what can we boast of when the foreigners come later in the year? this area of attack is a venue that will host 7 matches. can the safety of the other teams be guaranteed as well? we Africans are the architect of our own misfortune. The Togolese team will be justified by any decision they take because everyone on that bus was inches close to death. its just so so sad the image we are painting for the rest of the world to see

salazani: 2010-01-09 11:18

Lets just hope for the best. however, in future considerations, a country's stability should be considered before awarding them a right to host a major tournament. money is not everything, there are smaller and more stable countries were these things are unheadof.

Its a shame that some south africans want to come out holier than thou, we know your thugs are capable of worse things, reemember you killed Lucy Dube in cold blood, what would stop your thugs to go after Kaka just for a gold chain.

The incident is unfortunate and should be condemened by all civilized pipo accross the the world.

ken gadaffi: 2010-01-09 11:22

This is really too bad.... These rebels have taken it too far..... I fear for SA 2010

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

ola: 2010-01-09 17:41

remember 2008 when an American gunmen entered into a school opened fire on the students killing a couple of them in a cold blooded afternoon, remember when gunmen entered into a school in Russia and killed children and held the whole school hostage, more were killed after Putin ordered the use of force to dislodge the chechen rebels from the school. please don't let us paint africa black, this kind of thing happen around the world-europe, america, australia, middle east, etc. but my concern is why? did CAF choose kabinda, close to the border with congolese rebels in that area,as one of the hosting venue, pls why? CAF WHY? CAF can you tell us WHY? WHY? I really need an answer for this question.

ola: 2010-01-09 17:48

i believe that CAF would have rejected warri if Nigeria had chosen it as a venue for the last u-17 world cup 'cos of the niger delta rebels, why then did you accept Kabinda a border town of congolese rebels as a hosting venue. sincerely, i need an answer from CAF.

Frank: 2010-01-09 22:00

BIG QUESTION MUST BE ASKED
1. IS THE COMPETITION FOR SALE TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER?

2. IS CAF, FIFA AND ANGOLA SERIOUS?
3. WHAT ARE THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED?

FOR TOO LONG WE AFRICANS TAKE THINGS, LITTLE THINGS FOR GRANTED AND WHEN THE LITTLE THINGLS FLARE UP THEN IT BECOMES CONTINENTAL DISGRACE.

BUT AFRICA SHOULD TAKE HEART, BECAUSE
1. DURING NORMAL LEAGUES GAMES IN EUROPE MORE PEOPLE DIE THROUGH ACCIDENTS.
2. AFRICA SHOULD LEARN FROM THE EFFECTS OF EXTREMISM.
3. WE SHOULD NOT LET FOREIGNERS TELL US HOW TO RUN OUR BUSINESS, WE SHOULD LEARN AND ADAPT AND CHANGE, AND IMPROVE.

ALL THESE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES HAVE THEIR SKELETONS SO AFRICAN SHOULD NOT FEEL INFERIOR BECAUSE OF THIS INCIDENT. WE LEARN AND MOVE ON. WE SHOULD NOT MAKE THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DIE FOR NOTHING....THEY MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE AND WE AS A CONTINENT NEED TO LEARN, IMPROVE AND MOVE ON. THE LAST THING WE SHOULD DO IS TO LISTEN TO THE ESPECIALLY THE EUROPEANS CRITISISM.

Olaleye: 2010-01-11 05:23

Togo should'nt have travelled by land just because there was no money for them to travel by air they should 've their FA to blame.

salazani: 2010-01-11 09:03

No apologisies for what I said. South Africans are capable of hosting a successful Worl Cup. But what I said was that irrational pipo exist every where, including South Africa. I gave the example of the killing of a super star.

I was trying to dispell the notion of trying to distance South Africa from from the "African Madness".

Jealous of South africa? Nosence, I m from Zambia, and you know that we know how useless u South Africans are. You want to side with the rest of Africa when it suites u, but you call us all sorts of names when you think you are OK.

Us zambians have never been refugees like most of you. Do your survey, the Zambians you find in South Africa are proffessionals who you illiterates actually need.