Togo players talk of ‘pool of blood’ as team pull out

Togo should have been playing Ghana on Monday evening in their opening match of the African Cup of Nations in Angola but instead the squad is back home after Friday's terrorist attack that left three people dead.
 
As many as 20 masked gunmen opened fire on the Togo team bus after it crossed from the Republic of Congo into Cabinda, a territory in northern Angola rich in diamonds and oil that has been the scene of a bitter struggle for independence for the past 40 years. The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), later claimed responsibility for the attack that resulted in the deaths of an assistant coach, a press officer and a bus driver.
 
Togolese midfielder Richmond Forson explained on a French radio station that there were two buses, the first containing the squad's kit, the second the players. "That bus bore the brunt of the attack," he recounted, "because the gunmen thought we were on it. The windscreen exploded and it was the driver of the first bus who was killed."

As the squad's police escort exchanged fire with the terrorists, several people in the second bus were hit, among them the communications director and two players, 22-year-old central defender Serge Akakpo and reserve goalkeeper Obilalé Dodo.
 
Aston Villa's 26-year-old midfielder Moustapha Salifou described how "the shooting lasted for half an hour and I could hear the bullets whistling past me. It was like a movie. I know I am really lucky. I was in the back of the coach with Emmanuel Adebayor and one of the goalkeepers. A defender in front of me took two shots in the back. Obilalé Dodo, one of my best friends, was shot in the chest and stomach area and he's been flown to South Africa to undergo an operation to save his life."

Alaixys Romao, a midfielder who plays for Grenoble in the French first division, said: "There was an enormous pool of blood on the floor of the bus. It was horrible."

The most dramatic eye-witness account came from Manchester City striker and Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor, who revealed that as the players cowered from the bullets "everyone was crying, calling their mums, crying on the phone, saying their last words because they thought they'd be dead."

The initial reaction of the Togo squad was to withdraw from the tournament, a sentiment articulated by Romao. "No-one wants to play," he said. "We're not capable of it. We're thinking first of all about the health of our injured."

But by Saturday afternoon the players apparently had a change of heart with Thomas Dossevi issuing a defiant rallying cry: "We want to show our national colours, our values and that we are men."

But the Togolese government had other ideas and on Sunday morning prime minister Gilbert Houngbo ordered the squad home, despatching an aircraft to Angola. "We explained to them through their captain, Adebayor, that in memory of those who had lost their lives, we also need to take into account what the families also think is the best way to pay tribute to them," Houngbo told the BBC.

Reaction in Britain to the atrocity has varied. Hull City have two players involved in the competition, Gabon striker Daniel Cousin and Nigerian midfielder Seyi Olofinjana, and the club's manager Phil Brown is anxious for their return: "I have two players on duty and I want them home."

But Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was more sanguine, saying he didn't think anyone in Europe was in a position to pass comment on the tournament's fate. "We, here, are not in the best position to judge the security of this competition," said Wenger, who has two of his squad - Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboué – in Angola. "I don't believe you just can stop a competition as it rewards the people who provoke the incident and means any competition is stoppable at any time. I don't like this culture of fear."

As the squad flew home on Sunday evening, Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football, arrived in Cabinda to reassure the players from Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, the remaining members of Pool B. He guaranteed the squad's safety and asked them to play on in the spirit of "fraternity, brotherhood, friendship and solidarity".

For the time being the tournament continues - Angola and Mali shared a thrilling 4-4 draw in the opening match on Sunday night - although the words of the terrorists' secretary-general will not be too far from the players' minds in the coming days. "This operation is only the start of a series of targeted actions," said FLEC's Rodrigues Mingas in a statement released to strike fear into what should have been a joyous African curtain-raiser to the summer World Cup in South Africa. ·